Pokemon: Firered
by Swordsman4
Summary: AU: Ash Ketchum has awakened to realize his journeys were only a cruel dream. Follow the young trainer as he sets out on his real journey to be a Pokemon Master for the memories of his dear friends and family. Completed as of 8/6/13 and the sequel is up.
1. A New Beginning

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

A teen with black hair, brown eyes, jeans, and a black t-shirt with a white and blue hoodie smiled as he had finally acomplished his lifelong dream. He had become a Pokemon Champion.

"I did it." he muttered as he stared at the confetti falling, he heard the crowd cheering, he held the trophy, it seemed so real.

Suddenly. the world began to spin. The stadium was replaced by a place of swirling darkness. A sharp pain was felt throughout his body. He opened his eyes, but the room was blurry. He felt as if he had been hit on the head.

"Wh-where am I?" he asked.

"You're up?" a man said.

The boy could only see a blurry figure of a person. His vision began to clear up.

"Who are you, where am I, where's Pikachu, where is Misty. mom, and Brock?" the boy asked in a confused state.

"I'm sorry Ash, that was all just a dream." a man in an orange business suit replied.

"What happened?!" Ash asked in anger as he stared at the man.

"You were dreaming, you've been unconcious ever since the accident." the man replied.

"Where is my mom?!" Ash demanded.

"I'm sorry Ash, your parents are in the same place they have been for the last five years. The Pallet Town cemetary." the man answered with a puzzled look on his face.

"No, you're lying to me!" Ash yelled.

"Ash, you've known that your parents passed away years ago." the man said calmly.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"You know me, Ash, you've been living with me since your parents passed. I am your uncle, Giovanni." the man said.

"Those are lies!" Ash shouted as he ran out of the hospital.

Ash ran into the street and ran into the middle of town.

"What happened to Pallet Town?!" Ash gasped at the sight of the town.

The amount of buildings, cars, traffic, and people shocked him. The world he knew was no longer.

"Ash, come back." Giovanni said as he chased after the boy.

"Where's my Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"You don't own any Pokemon." Giovanni replied.

"No, this can't be." Ash said as he began to cry.

"I'm sorry, but that was all a dream." Giovanni said as he hugged the confused boy.

"I don't know what to believe any more." Ash muttered.

"Let's go home, we'll talk there." Giovanni said as they returned to the hospital to sign the discharge papers.

* * *

The confused boy sat on his bed thinking about his friends. Misty, Max, Brock, May, Cilan, Iris, Dawn. Were they all just a delusion? A mere product of his imagination. No, they seemed to real to be fake. But the toughest blow to take was the fact that his loyal Pokemon were all just a dream. Pikachu was a mere dream, Charizard was never his powerhouse, Sceptile never battled Darkrai. He saw two options before him. Lie down and cry about the dreams he had and wish they were real. Or maybe, just maybe, he could achive his goal.

"I won't let their memories go to waste." Ash muttered as he stood up.

"This is for you." Ash added as he ran down the stairs.

* * *

"Uncle Giovanni, you said you were a trainer?" Ash said.

"I was, why?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you could get Professor Oak to give me a Pokemon." Ash replied.

"That I can do." Giovanni said as he led the boy outside.

* * *

_Author's Note: What do you think? I just read the theory about Ash being in a coma, while I don't believe the theory, I thought it would make one heck of a reboot. Quote of the day...Truth is stranger than fiction- Mark Twain _

_Please review. Swordsman4 out!_


	2. Rivalry Restored

Giovanni took his nephew to the lab to see Professor Oak. As they walked through the door the two trainers met familiar faces.

"Well, Ashy-boy, long time no see. I see you're late as usual." a boy with brown hair, black eyes, a blue shirt, and a pair of faded jeans chuckled.

"Better late than never, which reminds me of how many times you've beat me, Gary." Ash replied with a smirk.

"Well, if it isn't my loser rival." the man standing next to Gary sneered.

"Hmmm..." Giovanni grunted.

"What's wrong, Growlithe got your tongue?" the man asked.

"Whatever. Are you ready?" the man asked Gary.

"Yep, so long Ashy-boy." Gary said as he left.

"Who was the man you talked to?" Ash asked.

"An old acquaintance." Giovanni replied.

"Ash Ketchum, it's nice to see you again." Samuel Oak said.

"How are you after the...well...accident?" the professor asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Ash muttered.

"You're just on time to pick a starter." Samuel said.

Ash remained silent and glanced over the starters. He looked at a Pokeball with a flame on it. Memories of his loyal Charizard began to flood his mind.

"I want this one." Ash said as he pointed at the Pokeball containing Charmander.

"Charmander is a good choice." Professor Oak said as he handed Ash a Pokedex.

"Thank you, Professor Oak." Ash said as he left the lab with Giovanni.

* * *

Giovanni and Ash returned to a fairly decent house.

"I see you are getting ready to leave." Giovanni said.

"Yep, I'm going to be the best trainer in Kanto that ever received a starter." Ash said as if it was a fact.

"Ash, before you leave I want to give you this." Giovanni said as he handed him a red jacket.

"What is this?" Ash asked.

"It was the jacket I wore when I was a young trainer on my journey, I'm giving it to you because you deserve to carry on the Ketchum legacy." Giovanni replied.

Tears formed in Ash's eyes.

"Your parents would be proud of the man you have become." Giovanni said with a smile.

"I don't know what to say, I will never be able to thank you enough." Ash said.

"You can thank me by achiving your dream." Giovanni replied.

Ash smiled and sprinted out the door to start a new journey. To achive the one thing he always dreamed of. Being the very best.

* * *

He left the only thing he thought he knew. But not even Pallet Town was quite the same of how he "remembered" it. None of Kanto even looked halfway like it did in his "dream". As Ash looked at a stretch of grass, trees, and a road he began to think about his "dream". He could see the Spearow chasing him and his loyal Pikachu, he could see the bike he took from Misty, he could feel the ground he laid on. But it was all a mirage, a fantasy. But how? How was he placed in fantasy land? It was a question that continued to eat at the trainer. A voice shook him from his daydreams.

"Well, I see you figured out how to leave Pallet Town. I'm surprised you got this far." Gary taunted.

And then there was Gary, he was really the only part of his dreams that remained the same.

"Hey, earth to Ketchum!" Gary shouted as he threw a pebble at Ash.

The trainer snapped out of his thoughts again and caught the pebble.

"What do you want, Gary?" Ash asked.

"Hmm...I search Pallet Town for you, we both got our starters. Connect the dots, Ashy-boy." Gary replied.

"If it's a battle you want it's a battle you get!" Ash shouted as he pulled out a Pokeball and threw it.

"Charmander, huh?" Gary asked.

"Pretty lame, Ashy-boy." Gary added as he threw a Pokeball containing a Squirtle.

"Charmander use Scratch." Ash said.

The fire type clawed the turtle as it rushed towards it.

"Squirtle hit him back, with Tackle." Gary commanded.

The water type lunged through the air and hit Charmander.

"Charmander use Scratch." Ash said.

"Dodge it and use Tackle." Gary commanded.

Squirtle hit Charmander and knocked it out with the attack.

"Wow, if that's how you Pokemon are going to be you're in trouble." Gary said as he left.

Ash could swear he heard Misty's insults about his ability to train Pokemon.

"Oh, shut up." Ash said to himself as he returned his starter to its Pokeball.

* * *

_Author's Quote of the day/chapter...You wouldn't have won if we'd beaten you.-Yogi Berra_


	3. Pewter City

As Ash began to walk through down the dirt road he saw a girl who seemed familiar.

"Misty, it's nice to see you." Ash said.

"I'm sorry do I know you?" the girl who appeared like Misty asked.

"Sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine." Ash replied as he left.

To be honest, Ash wasn't used to the real world. He wished that he could go back to the way the world was in his sleep. A ten-year old boy roaming through Kanto wasn't as fun as it was in his subconscious. As he strolled past the lake he entered Pewter City. It wasn't anything like it was in his dreams. To be honest it was more like a rural farmland than a city. Ash began to search for the Pewter gym, and he was hoping to see Brock again.

"Sir." Ash said to get a man's attention.

"How may I help you?" a man asked.

"I was wondering if you could help me find the Pewter City gym." Ash answered.

"The gym, huh." the old man said.

"No one has operated the gym for years, it has been abandoned for years. There is a man who owns a store in it." the old man said.

"Can you tell me where the gym is?" Ash requested.

"I'm sorry, no one has seen the man who runs it in years." the man replied.

"Thanks for your time." Ash said as he walked towards an abandoned warehouse.

Ash began to dust of a sign with his hand to try to read it.

"Pewter City gym." Ash read outloud.

He knocked on the door but no one answered.

"So much for battling the gym leader." Ash thought as he left.

A cave caught the trainer's attention. Ash slowly approached the dark, weather worn cave and peered inside.

"It's a mineshaft." Ash said and his voice echoed through the mine.

Ash entered the dark mine.

"Boy, is it hard to see." Ash thought.

"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball releasing his fire type.

"I need some help to see in this cave." Ash told the reptile.

"Char." it said as it nodded and strengthened the flame on its tail.

Ash slowly crept through the mine looking for anything that peaked his interest.

"How long do you think this was abandoned?" Ash asked.

"Char." the fire type replied as it walked alongside its master.

As Ash was walking he ran into a table causing an old bottle to fall on the cave floor. Ash looked up at the ceiling to see several eyes staring back at him.

"Ahhh!" Ash screeched as he and Charmander sprinted away.

A large purple bat swooped down and pickpocketed Ash.

"Hey, get back here with my Pokedex!" Ash shouted as he turned around and chased the Golbat further into the mine.

As Ash and Charmander chased the Pokemon they tripped over a rock. The Pokemon began to snicker and it gave Ash back his Pokedex.

"I get it, you just wanted attention." Ash said.

The bat began to screech.

"Do you want to join my team?" Ash asked.

The Golbat screeched as it hovered in the air. Ash threw a Pokeball at the large bat. The red and white orb began to shake and flash.

"Alright, I caught a Golbat!" Ash shouted as he held up the Pokeball.

"What's going on in here?" a man with brown hair, squinty eyes, a tan t-shirt, and blue jeans asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, I was just exploring this cave." Ash said.

"That's quite fine, you just have to warn somebody before you shout like that." the man said.

Ash sweat dropped.

"I'll probably be on my way, since the Pewter Gym isn't open any more." Ash said as he turned to leave.

"What if I told you I knew where the Pewter Gym is." the man said.

"I'd love to know if it really exists." Ash replied.

"Then follow me." the man said as he walked further into the dark cave.

The man led Ash into a large room with a dirt floor. If Ash didn't know any better he would say it looked like a gym from his dreams.

"You said you wanted to find the Pewter City gym, and here it is." the man said.

"Wow, who is the gym leader here?" Ash asked.

"That would be me, Flint." the man said as he pointed at himself.

"Cool, I never would have guessed." Ash replied.

"No one has battled me in years because no one wanted to battle my powerful Pokemon." Flint said.

"It would be an honor." Ash said.

"Good, if you beat me you'll get the Boulderbadge." Flint said.

"Choose your Pokemon." Flint said.


	4. Pewter City Puzzle

Ash began to think about which Pokemon to use. He was kicking himself for not searching for a water type.

"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw a red and white orb.

"Golem, let's go!" Flint boomed and his voice echoed through the cave.

"Charmander use Ember." Ash commanded.

The fire type opened its mouth and spit tiny sparks of fire at Golem. The rock\ground type shook off the attack and prepared for an attack of its own.

"Golem use Stone Edge." Flint said.

Golem launched large chunks of stone and threw them at Charmander.

"Charmander jump from stone to stone." Ash said calmly.

The small fire type leaped from stone to stone until it lunged through the air.

"Charmander use your forward momentum and put it into Scratch." Ash said.

Charmander lunged at Golem with the enhanced attack. The hit caused Golem to fall backwards.

"Golem use Rollout." Flint said.

The rock type rolled into Charmander like a bowling ball knocking it out.

"You have to be the toughest trainer I've faced." Flint said.

"No one has ever landed a hit on my Golem." Flint added.

"Thank you for your time." Ash said as he turned to leave.

"Feel free to return for a rematch." Flint said.

"Thanks, I will." Ash replied as he left the cave to find a himself a water type.

* * *

Ash remembered seeing a small stream on the outskirts of Pewter City and decided to check it out. He hoped to find a water type in the stream. As he pulled a fishing pole out of his backpack he began to think about his dream. He thought of Misty as he began to fish. If only it wasn't a dream. Ash was jarred from his daydream when he felt a tug on his fishing line.

"I've got something!" Ash shouted eagerly as he began to reel in his line.

"You've got to be kidding me." Ash groaned as he saw a strand of seaweed stuck on his hook.

He took the slimy, green plant off his hook and threw it back into the water. He cast his line back into the wire. After hours of waiting, he began to fade off to sleep. Suddenly, a tug nearly pulled him into the stream.

"What?!" Ash asked as he woke up and felt something pull on his line.

"Squirtle!" a blue turtle Pokemon shouted.

"It's a Squirtle." Ash said as he put all his weight into pulling the turtle in.

Ash fell backwards on purpose to tug on the line. The water type broke free from the line to attempt to escape.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

"Golbat!" the purple bat shreiked.

"Golbat use Supersonic!" Ash shouted.

The poison\flying type unleashed shockwaves that stunned the water type.

"Go Pokeball!" Ash shouted as he threw a red and white orb at the turtle.

The round orb began to shake and whobble. It flashed twice indicating that the Pokemon was caught.

"It looks like I've got myself a water type." Ash muttered as he clipped the Pokeball to his belt.

"Get ready for a rematch." Ash said as he began to walk back to the cave.

* * *

As the trainer rentered the cave he walked to where the battlefeld was.

"What in the world?!" Ash gasped as the battlefield was gone.

As Ash began to look around he noticed a small yellow notepad. He began to read the notes.

"The gym's arena is never in the same place. The boulders hold the key." the notes read.

"The boulders hold the key?" Ash asked as he stared at the walls and the rocks on the ground.

Ash began to get angry.

"Why can't these places be like the gyms in my dreams?" Ash asked as he kicked a large boulder.

The grey rock shifted over and a large silver door opened up in front of Ash.

"It was a puzzle!" Ash gasped as he entered the arena.

"I see you've solved the Pewter City gym's puzzle." Flint said.

"Yes, and I'm ready for a rematch." Ash replied.

"Choose your Pokemon." Flint said.


	5. Rocky Rematch

"Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

"Golem, let's go!" Flint boomed as he sent out his rock\ground type.

"Squirtle use Bubble." Ash said.

The water type opened its mouth to spit a spray of bubbles out at Golem.

"Golem use Magnitude." Flint said.

Golem surrounded itself in a brown aura and stomped the ground. The ground began the vibrate violently. Ash could hardly keep his balance.

"Squirtle use Bubble." Ash said.

The water type spit bubbles at Golem, but missed because it couldn't aim with all the tremors.

"Golem use Rollout." Flint said.

The rock type curled into a ball and rolled towards Squirtle.

"If I don't come up with a strategy soon Squirtle will be a bowling pin." Ash thought.

"Squirtle dodge the attack." Ash commanded.

Squirtle sidestepped the rolling Golem at the last second.

"Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash said.

"Squirtle!" the water type shouted as it spit a steady stream of water at Golem.

"What?!" Ash gasped in shock.

The water hardly effected Golem.

"Are you surprised?" Flint asked.

"Yes, but we won't let that stop us." Ash said.

"Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash commanded.

The turtle fired a stream of water at Golem.

"Golem use Rollout." Flint said.

Golem rolled towards Squirtle as it spit water at it. The rock type ran into Squirtle like a bowling ball.

"Are you okay, Squirtle?" Ash asked.

"Squirt." the Pokemon said as it nodded.

"Alright, Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash commanded.

"Don't you get it, Water Gun won't work." Flint said.

"We'll just see about that." Ash replied with a smirk.

Squirtle hit Golem with the stream of water.

"Golem use Rollout." Flint said.

Golem rolled towards Squirtle with great speed.

"Squirtle use Water Gun on the ground." Ash commanded.

The water type spit water a the dirt causing the dirt to become soft mud.

"Squirtle keep using Water Gun as you dodge Rollout." Ash said.

Squirtle soaked the ground with water.

"If you think you'll slow Golem's Rollout down like that you're sadly mistaken." Flint said.

"Golem Rollout." Flint commanded.

"Squirtle use Water Gun at full power on the ground!" Ash shouted.

The water type spit a jet of water on the ground in front of Golem. The soil was washed away leaving a gully in the ground. As Golem rolled across it the rock type lost control and went flying into the wall.

"Wow, I've never seen that before. No one has ever defeated my Golem, you are a truly powerful trainer." Flint said.

"Thank you." Ash said.

"I want to give you this, you've earned it." Flint said as he handed him grey octagon-shaped badge.

"A Boulder Badge? Thanks." Ash said.

"Flint before I leave, I have a question." Ash said.

"Shoot away." Flint replied.

"Do you by any chance have a son named Brock?" Ash asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any children." Flint replied.

"Oh." Ash said.

"Thanks for your time." Ash said as he bolted out of the cave.

Most of everyone he knew wasn't here. Misty, Brock, Mom, Max, May, Dawn, Cilan, Tracy. Everyone was just a dream. The world he lived in was much more cruel than he could have dreamed. The world was a strange place, why was Giovanni his uncle. Ash knew Giovanni as a cruel man who wanted nothing more than world domination, and he would do anything to achieve it. Apparently, in the real world he was his kind-hearted uncle who took care of him. Tears began to flow down Ash's cheeks as reality struck, he wouldn't be seeing any of his "friends".

"Everyone's gone." Ash muttered as he fell asleep under a tree.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm shocked by the popularity of this fanfic, thanks for reading. Please comment and feel free to give suggestions on Pokemon and pairings. Swordsman4 out! _


	6. Trouble With Team Rocket

"Ash, wake up!" a girl with orange hair, greenish-blue eyes, a yellow shirt, and blue jean shorts shouted as she kicked the trainer.

"Ow! What did you do that for, Misty?!" Ash asked as he woke up.

"You wouldn't get up." Misty replied.

"Breakfast is almost ready." Brock said.

"Pika!" the yellow mouse shouted as it greeted Ash.

"What happened, I was in another world." Ash said.

"You must have had some dream." Brock said.

"I really was in another world, I missed you guys." Ash said.

As Ash began to talk to his friends they began to melt like wax over a flame.

"What in the world?!" Ash gasped.

Suddenly, a dark chasm open beneath the trainer and swallowed him.

"Ahh!" Ash screamed as he woke up underneath a tree.

The trainer began to look around to see where he was.

"I'm losing my sanity. I'm getting freaked out over people who don't exist." Ash muttered.

Ash couldn't convince himself that his "friends" weren't real. He could literally brainwash himself, but it wouldn't do any good. The fact that his parents were dead, and his "friends" weren't real were eating him. Those facts were driving him to the brink of insanity.

"Why must I be here?!" Ash screamed as he began to leave Pewter City.

The trainer ran down the road and ran into a man wearing a black overcoat.

"Watch where you're going, twerp!" the man shouted in rage.

"I'm sorry." Ash said as he began to walk away.

"Go jump in a lake." the man muttered as he stood in the middle of the road.

"Listen you, where I come from people aren't stuck up jerks like you!" Ash shouted.

Ash's emotions began to do the talking for him.

"Get lost kid!" the man shouted.

The man walked over to a truck full of items. Ash couldn't tell what they were and crept closer to see what they were.

"I told you to get out of here." the man said.

"What are those?" Ash asked.

"How much do you know?" the man asked.

"I'm just wondering what those are." Ash answered.

"I'm going to give you an offer you can't refuse, I'll pay you three hundred thousand dollars if you leave and forget this meeting ever happened." the man said.

Ash was about to take the money when he noticed a red "R" on the side of the man's coat.

"No." Ash said fearing the man's response.

"Then we are going to get rid of you." the man said as he threw a Pokeball.

"Tyranitar use Hyper Beam." the man said.

The rock-dark type charged the orange beam and fired it at Ash. The ten-year old rolled out-of-the-way and threw a Pokeball.

"Golbat use Screech." Ash commanded.

The poison-flying type emitted a sharp shriek that hurt the man's ears and his Tyranitar's ears. Ash used that time to escape the man. He ran down the road like a marathon runner.

"Thanks for helping out, Golbat." Ash said after they were a safe enough distance from the man.

"Hey, what's that?" Ash asked as he saw a yellow object in a bush.

Ash slowly approached a small Pokemon caught in a net.

"It's a Pikachu!" Ash gasped as he gritted his teeth as he saw the mouse trapped in a net.

"I'll get you out." Ash said.

"You'll do no such thing." the man he saw at the truck said.

"Team Rocket has claimed this Pokemon for ourselves. We need this Pokemon to power our super weapon, but now that I've told you our plan...YOU MUST DIE." the man said as he pulled out two Pokeballs sending out a Houndoom and a Flareon.

"Nighty night, kid." the man said as he had the Pokemon attack.


	7. The Trio of Terror

Ash quickly grabbed a large branch and pushed Flareon off him. He used the branch to push Houndoom back. After pushing the attacking Pokemon back he threw a Pokeball.

"Golbat use Screech." Ash commanded.

The purple bat shrieked and the sound wave hurt Flareon and Houndoom's ears.

"Nice try, I have ear plugs." the man said.

Ash sent out his Charmander to free the Pikachu with Scratch. Ash returned his Pokemon to their Pokeballs. He tried to run off with the Pikachu, but the man grabbed his leg.

"No way, kid!" the man shouted.

"Let go of me!" Ash demanded.

"Jessie, I need backup." the man said into a walkie-talkie.

Ash stomped on the man's hand with his other foot.

"Ow!" the man hollered as he left go of Ash's leg.

"Drop the Pokemon." a voice said.

Ash turned around to see a Meowth holding a weapon.

"Fine." Ash said as he set down the Pikachu.

As he set down the mouse, he dropped a Pokeball containing his Charmander.

"Charmander use Ember." Ash commanded.

Charmander spit shards of hot coal at Meowth causing him to drop his weapon.

"Return." Ash said as he put Charmander back in the red and white orb.

He grabbed the Pikachu and ran off into the forest hoping to lose them.

"I don't remember Team Rocket being this dangerous." Ash muttered.

"Hello, twerp." a woman in an overcoat said as she stood in front of him.

"Give me the Pikachu." the woman said.

"Never!" Ash replied as he ran the other direction.

"No where to run, kid." the man Ash escaped from said.

"And nowhere to hide." Meowth added as he laughed as he held a fork-like item.

"You look familiar, kid." the man said.

"You look related to Giovanni." the man said as he cringed in fear.

"Giovanni, not him!" the woman gasped.

"He was responsible for the destruction of one hundred Team Rocket bases when he was a trainer." Meowth added.

"Then we'll get some revenge." the man said as he grabbed Ash by the shirt collar and held him up against a tree and drew back his fist.

"James, this might be better." Meowth cackled as he handed him a weapon that sparked.

"We haven't tested it it...yet." James said as he laughed in a menacing tone.

James poked Ash with the device and it shocked him like an electic fence. All Ash saw was darkness.

* * *

Ash began to regain conciousness and saw he was in a dark metal room. As Ash tried to squirm he realized his arms were chained and he was hanging above something.

"Ekans, seriously?" Ash asked himself as he stared down into the pit below him.

Ash also noticed red lasers surrounding him and figured that they would trigger an alarm.

"Hello, are you enjoying your stay?" Meowth asked.

"Sure." Ash replied.

"It's time we get rid of this twerp." Jessie said.

"I couldn't agree more." James replied.

As James stood close to the lasers, Ash began to use his chains to swing closer to him. Ash gained enough momentum to kick him in the face and use the lasers to cut the chains.

"He's free!" Meowth shouted.

"No dip, Sherlock." James groaned in pain.

The trio chased after Ash. As Ash ran through a hallway he spotted the Pikachu in a tube, getting its energy drained.

"Why those no good..." Ash grumbled as he entered the room and grabbed the tube.

"We'll split up." Meowth said.

Ash had Charmander burn a hole in the window with Ember and put the tube containing a Pikachu in his backpack.

"Slowly now." Ash muttered as he climbed down the building.

James looked out the window and spotted Ash.

"He's climbing down the building." James alerted his comrades.

"He took our electric type." Meowth growled as he picked up a heavy chair and dropped it out the window in an attempt to hit Ash.

"Oh great." Ash muttered as he broke a window to dodge the falling chair.

Ash saw small cut in his hand.

"We gotta get out of here." Ash said as he ran down some stairs.

"He's back in the building." Meowth said.

As Ash saw another flight of stairs he was cut off by Meowth. Meowth chased him into a kitchen.

"No where to run." Meowth said.

Ash glanced aroud the kitchen and spotted a mallet used from breaking up ice.

"If it works for Misty, it'll work for me." Ash muttered as he hit Meowth with the mallet.

Ash exhaled a sigh of relief as he got down to the first floor and slipped out the door.

"Let's get out of here." Ash said as he ran down the driveway he saw and hopped over a metal gate.


	8. Enter the Cerulean!

Ash ran out onto a dirt road. He read the signs and returned to the right trail. Ash looked into his bag to see if the Pikachu was okay. The Pikachu looked tired and weakened.

"I have to get this Pikachu out of this tube." Ash muttered as he tried to get the lid off of the tube.

No matter how much Ash tried he couldn't pry the tube open.

"I need to get you to a Pokemon Center, and I could use one myself." Ash said as he looked down at his bleeding hand.

Ash picked up his backpack, put the tube back in it, and bolted down the road. Ash looked for signs on the side of the road.

"Cerulean City, five miles." Ash read outloud.

"That's where we need to go." Ash muttered as he kept walking at a fast pace.

After walking several miles down the dirt road, Ash saw a large town with a many buildings. The town in front of him looked completely different then when he "arrived" in Cerulean. As he entered the town he couldn't help but think of his best friend, Misty.

"Misty lived here when I traveled here, Pikachu." Ash said.

The trainer realized that the Pikachu he had with him wasn't "his" Pikachu. Ash began to frantically search for a Pokemon Center. Ash ran into a door as someone opened it. He looked up to realize it was the Pokemon Center. He entered the fairly large hospital-like building.

"Ring bell for service." Ash muttered as he read a sign on the desk.

Ash rang the bell several times.

"How may I help you, sir?" a woman with brown hair, brown eyes, and a blue dress asked.

"I have a Pikachu that is hurt." Ash said.

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked.

"Appointment?" Ash asked.

"If you don't have an appointment we can't help you." the woman said.

"What do you mean you can't help me?!" Ash demanded.

"It's our policy." the woman replied.

"Have a nice day." the woman added cheerfully.

Ash turned around to leave, but his anger got the best of him. He returned to the desk.

"Listen you, I didn't risk my life and limb to save this Pikachu from a bunch of thugs to have you tell me you can't help it." Ash growled.

"I'm sorry, but..." the woman said as she was interrupted by Ash.

"I don't want to hear an apology, I don't want to hear about your policy, I don't give a darn about your policy. This Pikachu is hurt and it needs help. You're going to either help me or I'll find someone who can." Ash hissed as he gritted his teeth.

"Fine, you can drop him off." the woman said.

"That's what I wanted to hear." Ash replied.

* * *

Ash reached into his backpack a bandaged the small cut he had. He decided to go outside to see if the gym was open. As he walked down the street he heard a voice that made his blood boil.

"Hey, Ashy-boy!" a all too familiar voice rang through his ears.

"What do you want, Gary?" Ash asked.

"I was wondering how many badges you have." Gary replied.

"Eight." Ash lied and he chuckled about the lie he could only understand.

"Yeah right." Gary said.

"What did you want?" Ash asked.

"I wanted to see how my weakling rival was doing, it's a miracle you even got the first badge." Gary replied.

"Wait, you probably didn't!" Gary shouted.

"Gary, you really need to get a life. Instead of stalking me how about you focus on training your team, not that it would help you at all." Ash said.

"Wow, since when did you get so good at comebacks? I mean they're aren't great, but it's better than the lousy excuses for comebacks you had before." Gary said.

"I had years to think of them." Ash replied.

"How many Pokemon have you caught?" Gary asked.

"More than you will ever catch, Gary." Ash answered.

"Oh yeah, I caught a Spearow, a Pidgey, a Dodrio..." Gary said as he was interrupted by Ash.

"Looks like you're nothing, but a bird brain, Mary. Oops, I mean Gary." Ash snickered.

"Ha, ha." Gary said sarcastically as he stormed away.

"It's time I pay the Cerulean Gym a visit." Ash said to himself as he opened the door.

But he would never be able to prepare himself to see what was inside.

* * *

_Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm still shocked by the popularity of this fanfic, I didn't think it was that good at first. Suggestions for Ash's team and\or shippings would be appreciated. _


	9. Words to Live By

Ash entered the gym and looked around. The young trainer didn't know whether to cringe or rejoice when he heard a all to familiar voice.

"It looks like we have another, like, challenger." a woman with blonde hair, aqua eyes and a red dress said.

"Hello, young man." a woman with blue hair, brown eyes, and a green dress said.

"We have another challenger?!" a woman with pink hair, blue eyes, and a yellow dress asked in excitement.

"I'm guessing your, like, here for the Cascade Badge." the blonde said.

"Yes." Ash replied.

"Which one of us do you want to battle?" the women asked.

"Well...I was wondering if I could battle...another." Ash stuttered.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked.

"I was here to get the Cascade Badge, but I wanted to battle...Misty." Ash said.

"I'm, totally, sorry...but we don't know a Misty." the blonde replied.

Those words hit Ash like a ton of bricks falling from space. He couldn't believe his friends didn't exist.

"I have to go pick up...my Pokemon." Ash lied as he ran out the door.

Ash sat on the sidewalk and cried.

"These are lies, this is a dream." Ash muttered.

It's not that he didn't know the truth, he wanted to live in his fantasy. The world wasn't as cruel. He now had the mind of an adult, his childhood was tossed out overnight. His parents were dead. His friends were fake. Shoot, even his Pokemon were fake. He knew this, but it was nearly immpossible to overcome. He didn't have one person to turn to. In his dream world Gary had become kind, and was his friend. In reality he was just as arrogant as ever. Even Team Rocket had a heart. Now they were cruel mafia-like criminals. Ash had no one to turn to. Ash immediately pulled out his cell phone. He only had one number he could think of calling. The dial tone buzzed a few times.

"Hello." a man said.

"Hello, Uncle Giovanni. I need some advice." Ash said.

* * *

"Yes, Ash." Giovanni said.

"You asked me what was bothering me a few weeks ago, and I know what it is." Ash said.

"Yes." Giovanni replied.

"It's that dream, that dream is killing me." Ash said.

"What's so bad about a dream?" Giovanni asked.

"Usually they're not bad, but my dream felt like it was a reality. I had tons of friends, Pokemon, and the world was brighter." Ash replied.

"I see." Giovanni said.

"I could really use some advice on how to forget that dream." Ash said.

"Ash, we need to play the cards we're dealt. When your father and mother died I felt terrible. I felt it was my fault. Had the argument never happened they never would have gotten in the car accident. I regret that every day. But it brought you to stay with me. I knew I could and would do my best to give you a good future." Giovanni said.

"But it's hard." Ash replied.

"I know, I'm going to tell you something I never told anyone before. I was a Pokemon Champion." Giovanni said.

"Really?" Ash asked.

"Yep, I was a strong trainer. My rival Steven "Blue" Oak was a lot like your rival Gary. Like father like son, I guess." Giovanni chuckled.

"Wow, that's why Gary's dad taunted you!" Ash exclaimed.

"I had won it all, but I received a phone call from my mother telling me dad had passed away. Between the press, the trainers challenging me, and the death of my father, I fled into Mt. Silver. I hid there for about two years." Giovanni said.

"What made you leave the mountain?" Ash asked.

"Your father traveled to Mt. Silver. He challenged me to a battle. He said that hiding from my troubles was no way to live. But I said nothing. He said that if he won that we'd return to Pallet Town. But if I won he'd leave me alone and never tell anyone he saw me." Giovanni replied.

"Who won?" Ash asked.

"Your father won." Giovanni answered.

"I returned home to face my fears and troubles." Giovanni added.

"So, what is your advice?" Ash asked.

"Face your fears, you need to come to terms with what happened." Giovanni replied.

"I will do that!" Ash shouted.

"Good." Giovanni said.

"Thanks, Uncle Giovanni." Ash said.

"Your welcome." Giovanni replied as the trainers hung up.

Ash stared at the gym.

"It's time to prove Gary wrong, and win for them." Ash said as he opened the door and entered once more.

* * *

_Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter. To clarify Giovanni is NOT the Team Rocket leader. Please Review, Swordsman 4 out!_


	10. Cerulean Showdown

Ash walked through the door and into the gym. He stared at the pool and his mind began to wander back to the though of his "friends".

"Nope, I'm not going there." Ash muttered.

"Like, I see you're back." the blonde gym leader said.

"I have my Pokemon." Ash replied.

"Who would you like to battle?" the blonde asked.

"I want to face whoever is the best trainer of the three of you." Ash answered.

"Then you'll be facing me." the blonde said.

Ash was shocked, in his dream world Daisy hated battles and was far from being a strong trainer.

"Golbat, I choose you!" Ash shouted.

The purple bat fluttered above the ground as it waited for Daisy to choose a Pokemon.

"Gyarados, go." Daisy said as she threw a Pokeball.

"Golbat use Screech." Ash said.

Golbat shrieked and a shockwave of noise flooded the gym. Gyarados began to flail as the soundwave hit it.

"Golbat use Air Slash." Ash commanded.

The bat threw several white disks of air at Gyarados.

"Gyarados use, like, Ice Beam." Daisy said.

The sea serpent fired a beam of blue ice at Golbat.

"Golbat, dodge it." Ash said.

The bat dove down to avoid the ice.

"Golbat use Supersonic." Ash said.

Golbat screeched again, but caused Gyarados to become confused.

"Gyarados use Flamethrower." Daisy said.

Gyarados spit hot flames out of its mouth, but hit itself with them because of the confusion.

"Like, no way!" Daisy shouted.

"Golbat use Sludge Bomb." Ash said.

The poison-flying type hurled brown blasts of goop at Gyarados knocking it out.

"It looks like you beat my Gyarados, but you won't beat my next Pokemon." Daisy said as she returned Gyarados to its Pokeball, and held another Pokeball.

"Go, Dewgong!" Daisy shouted as she threw a Pokeball.

"Dewgong use Aurora Beam." Daisy commanded.

Dewgong fired a bright beam of energy at Golbat. Golbat fell to the ground and swirls could be seen in its eyes.

"Golbat, return." Ash said as he held up a Pokeball and a red beam returned Golbat to the orb.

"You fought well." Ash said.

"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he sent out his starter.

"Dewgong use Aqua Tail." Daisy said.

Dewgong's tail was covered with a spiral of water. The water-ice type spun around and hit Charmander with its tail.

"Charmander, are you okay?" Ash asked as the fire type rolled across the floor.

"Dewgong use Aqua Tail again." Daisy commanded.

Dewgong repeated the same attack and Charmander rolled across the floor. The fire type stared down Dewgong and began to glow a bright white. In Charmander's place stood a Charmeleon. Charmeleon spit a small amount of flames on the ground.

"Looks like you learned Flamethrower." Ash said.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower." Ash commanded.

The fire type spit orange flames at Dewgong.

"You can, like, keep trying to beat Dewgong with Flamethrower, but it won't do much damage." Daisy said.

"Chameleon use Flamethrower." Ash commanded again.

"Dewgong use Ice Beam." Daisy said.

The two attacks crashed into each other and created a fog. The Pokemon had their attacks at full power, but neither of them could get farther than halfway across the battle arena. Suddenly, the bowl-shaped arena began to fill up with water.

"What in the world?!" Ash gasped.

"I see..." Daisy muttered.

The trainer from Pallet and the gym leader were floating on platforms. Charmeleon was standing on a platform in the middle of the arena, but Dewgong had disappeared.

"Dewgong use Ice Beam." Daisy said.

The sea-lion leaped from the water and fired a blue lightning bolt shaped beam of cold at Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower." Ash commanded.

The attacks clashed and were at a stalemate again.

"Charmeleon point Flamethrower at the ground." Ash said.

The fire type looked back at Ash in confusion, but obeyed. The fire type began to "fly" through the air.

"Charmeleon use Scratch and make sure you land on Dewgong." Ash said.

The fire type stopped using Flamethrower and hit Dewgong with Scratch. Swirls could be seen in Dewgong's eyes as the arena began to drain.

"It looks like you've beat me." Daisy said.

"Yep." Ash replied.

"You've definitely earned this." Daisy added as she handed Ash a blue badge in the shape of a raindrop.

"Thanks." Ash said as he headed out the door.

As Ash left the gym he headed back to the Pokemon Center to check on the Pikachu he rescued.

"Here comes trouble." Gary snickered as Ash entered the Pokemon Center.


	11. A Rival Rematch

Ash stood in front of his rival and glared at him.

"I hear you rescued a Pikachu." Gary said.

"Yeah, why?" Ash asked.

"I bet it got weaker just being around you." Gary said.

Ash gritted his teeth in anger and walked up to the desk.

"May I help you?" a man asked at a desk.

"I wanted to check on a Pokemon I dropped off here." Ash replied.

"Name, please." the clerk said.

"The name's Ketchum, Ash Ketchum." the trainer from Pallet replied.

"I see, you dropped off a Pikachu." the clerk said.

"Yes, sir. I was wondering how the Pokemon is doing." Ash said.

"Look for yourself." the clerk said as he pointed at a room.

Ash walked down the hall and opened a white door. He peered inside to see what was inside. A yellow rodent with red cheeks stood on a table.

"I'm glad you're healthy." Ash said.

A nurse came in and took the Pikachu out to the front desk.

"Is this your Pikachu?" the nurse asked.

"No, I found it alongside the road." Ash replied.

"If it's not your Pokemon Ashy-boy, I'll take it." Gary said with a grin.

The yellow rodent bit Gary as he tried to pick it up.

"Why you little runt!" Gary growled.

"Pika." it said as it stuck its tongue out at Gary and ran over to Ash and hid behind him.

"It looks like that Pikachu really likes you." the nurse said.

"I guess I'll keep it then." Ash chuckled as he picked it up.

"If you're keeping it, I'm challenging you to a battle to prove how weak it is." Gary said.

"Fine." Ash replied as the trainers stepped outside.

* * *

Ash and Gary stood in the middle of the road.

"Pikachu, I choose you." Ash said.

"Eevee, go!" Gary shouted.

"Better give up now, Ashy-boy." Gary said.

"I was about to say the same thing, except for I was going to call you Mary." Ash replied.

"That comeback again? Kinda stale, don't you think?" Gary taunted.

"Hey, it's not as stale as your comebacks and name-calling. Gary Oak, uses the same names for namecalling as he did when he was a preschooler." Ash replied.

"You'll pay for that!" Gary shouted.

"Sorry, I don't carry money on me." Ash said.

"Eevee use Bite!" Gary commanded.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash shouted.

As Eevee went to chomp down on Pikachu, the mouse leaped over Eevee.

"It looks like you used Snore. I'm gonna fall asleep if you keep using that attack." Ash taunted.

Gary started to boil over in rage.

"Eevee use Double-Edge." Gary commanded.

Eevee dashed towards Pikachu at full speed and slammed into the mouse. Pikachu slid across the ground.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said.

The electric type discharged a bolt of lightning that shocked Eevee.

"Eevee use Shadow Ball." Gary said as he watched Eevee fire a purple ball of energy upon the command.

Pikachu ducked underneath the ball and rolled to the side.

"Pikachu use Quick Attack." Ash commanded.

Pikachu dashed towards Eevee and hit it knocking it out.

"What's wrong, Gary? Shocked to see we beat you." Ash said.

"Whatever." Gary replied as he stormed off.

"Smell ya later." Gary said as he walked away.

Ash walked down a separate road into the sunset.

* * *

As Ash walked down the road he reached the city limits.

"Hey, I need your help!" a man said.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked as he bolted over to help the man.

"There's an item of mine I lost in that cave." the man replied.

"I'll get it for you." Ash said.

"Thank you!" the man replied as he watched the trainer enter the dark cave.

"Thanks for making your demise so easy." the man said as he laughed and took off the disguise.

"That sucker will never live to see another item after we blow the cave to bits." Meowth said as he held a remote.


	12. Team Rocket Strikes Again

As Ash stepped over jagged rocks he walked further back into the cave.

"I wonder what the item is that he wanted." Ash muttered as he began to walk towards the cave opening to talk to the man who wanted him to find the item for him.

Ash saw a flashing red light in the corner of his eye. He stared at a metal black box with a strobe light on it.

"What is this?" Ash asked himself.

A flashback to his "dream" caused him to throw the box as far as he could into the cave. Ash bolted out of the cave and ran as far as he could away from the cave. A large explosion vaporized the cave and vegetation around it.

"Who sends a kid into a cave with a bomb in it?!" Ash shouted.

"We would!" James shouted in response.

"Not you freaks, again." Ash said.

"Prepare to be vaporized." Meowth said as he held out a bazooka and fired it.

A green laser beam cut through a tree, like a hot knife through butter.

"What do you want?!" Ash asked.

"Revenge." Jessie replied as she threw a Pokeball.

"Get him, Ekans!" Jessie commanded.

Ash began to climb a tree to get off the ground.

"Time to hunt for firewood." Meowth cackled as he cut the tree Ash was in with a laser.

The large tree began to lean-to the right. Ash instinctively moved to the left side and waited until it was closer to the ground to jump off.

"Where did he go?" Meowth asked.

"There he is!" Jessie shouted as she pointed at the young trainer.

Ash bolted down the road and saw a large abandoned brick building. He read the dilapidated sign on the front.

"Magic Emporium." it read.

"Let's get him!" Meowth hollered.

Ash opened the door and entered the old building. The Team Rocket trio followed inside the dark store.

"There he is." James said as he saw a shadow of a trainer.

The trainer opened a large blue chest and laid inside it.

"Let's get him!" Meowth said as he opened the crate and pointed his bazooka in it.

As he opened the chest it folded like a piece of paper.

"What the heck?!" James cursed.

"Where did the twerp go?" Jessie asked as they looked around.

* * *

Meanwhile, our trainer from Pallet Town walks through a large tunnel underground.

"It's an opening." Ash thought as he saw lights.

As Ash exited the tunnel he saw he was back on the right trail.

"Perfect." Ash muttered.

"Vermilion City, ten miles ahead." Ash said as he read the green sign on the side of the road.

Ash's phone began to ring.

"Hello." Ash answered.

"Ash, it's me." Giovanni said.

"Yes." Ash replied.

"Do not enter Vermilion City until...I...t...h...ey...are...there." Giovanni said but the phone cut out so the message wasn't clear.

"Uncle Giovanni, can you repeat..." Ash asked but all he could hear was a dial tone.

The wind started to blow and the trees began to rustle. And Ash started to panic.

"What's going on?" Ash asked.

"You'll find out in a few minutes." James laughed as he shot Ash with a strange dart.

And everything went black.

* * *

As Ash woke up he heard a sinister voice.

"Hello, Ash Ketchum. We've been expecting you." a man said.


	13. Giovanni to the Rescue?

"You and your family have been thorns in my side for too long!" a man's voice echoed through the room.

"What do you want from me?" Ash asked.

"I don't want anything, but revenge. Revenge for the destruction of Team Rocket facilities, payment for the legendary Pokemon freed by your family, and your family's destruction for the sleepless nights I had worried about my plans failing!" the man roared.

The man picked up a strange item off the ground. It looked like a weapon of some sort.

"Your luck has run out, Ash Ketchum!" the man shouted as he was about to pull the trigger.

Ash closed his eyes as a red laser beam flew towards him. A loud clank could be heard after the blast. The trainer opened his eyes and saw a metal pillar fall over. Ash saw a large Blastoise standing in front of him, covered in a greenish-yellow shield.

"Team Rocket, we meet again." a man in an orange business suit said as he returned Blastoise to its Pokeball.

"Giovanni, what a surprise." James groaned as he stared the man down.

Giovanni freed Ash from his chains.

"Quickly, we need to get out of here." Giovanni said to Ash.

"You're not going anywhere." the mysterious man's voice boomed as he stepped into the small glimmer of light from the ceiling.

"Archer, the dangerous Team Rocket leader." Giovanni growled.

"You have foiled my plans for years when you were a trainer." Archer said.

"But now you won't live to see my next plan." Archer added as held a blaster.

"I'm going to give you one last chance to let us go peacefully." Giovanni said.

"You are in no position to make threats, if you make any sudden movements I'll vaporize you." Archer warned as he held the silver blaster.

"Fine." Giovanni said as he threw a Pokeball before Archer could blink.

A large orange dragon spit a fireball at the Team Rocket leader's blaster. Archer held nothing but a pile of ashes. Giovanni and Ash took off down a hallway on the dragon.

"Stop them!" Archer shouted as he sent out four Fearow.

The vicious birds pursued the Ketchum trainers.

"He has Fearow chasing us." Ash said as he looked behind him.

"Hold on." Giovanni said as they were flying towards a metallic wall.

"We can't fly into a wall!" Ash shouted.

"Just trust me." Giovanni said calmly.

Ash began to skim through his thoughts, he was now trusting Giovanni. Giovanni was the very man who founded Team Rocket, or so he thought. He watched as Giovanni's Charizard inched closer to the metal wall. The Charizard spit orange flames at the wall. The metal began to weaken and melted allowing them to escape Team Rocket's clutches.

"We must find a place to go into hiding, they'll search for us." Giovanni said as they hid in the tall grass on the side of the road.

* * *

"Darn those Ketchums." Archer cursed, except for he didn't say darn.

"How do the Ketchums always escape our grasp?" Jessie asked.

"They are lucky, their luck will run out one day!" Archer insisted.

Several grunts in black entered the room.

"I want a search party to find them and bring them back here!" Archer screamed.

"What should we do, sir?" the Team Rocket trio asked.

"You three are my best operatives, I want you to make sure they don't enter a city. They must not enter any city, for we can't enter a city." Archer answered with a smile as he pointed at a weaponized helicopter.

"You can count on us, sir." the trio said.

"We'll leave a crater where those punks were." Meowth cackled as he prepared the chopper for liftoff.


	14. Reality is Stranger Than Fiction

"I think we're safe now." Giovanni said to Ash.

As soon as the man said that, the sound of chopper blades whirled above their heads. A large spotlight shone on the ground.

"What is it?" Ash asked as he looked up at the helicopter.

"It's the most high tech Team Rocket chopper yet." Giovanni replied.

"Can't Charizard shoot it out of the sky or something?" Ash asked.

"No, there's several of them." Giovanni replied as he pointed at the silver helicopters.

One of the chopper shone its spotlight down into the grass Giovanni and Ash were hiding in.

"There they are!" Meowth shouted.

"Ash, get out of here!" Giovanni shouted.

"What should I do?" Ash asked as he started to panic.

"I'll have the chopper follow me, that will give you enough time to escape." Giovanni replied.

"But..." Ash said as he was interrupted.

"Ash, your parents would be proud of you. You have a long life ahead of you, I'm not as young as I used to be." Giovanni said as he pushed the boy.

"Go!" he shouted as he ran in the opposite direction.

Ash ran in the opposite direction, and turned to look back. The man Ash thought was evil was possibly giving his life to save him. Ash turned around and ran down the road. He heard the sound of lightning and a chopper crashing. The flash of an explosion was seen on the ground as everything lit up for a second. Ash turned once more and saw the flash of a green laser. He presumed the worst as he ran at full speed towards the town of Vermilion.

As he was a within a mile of the town of Vermilion it started to rain. It started to sink in that Giovanni was probably dead, just like his parents. The only person that he knew that could help him and understand his situation was dead. What was he going to do now? He had no home, no family, and no friends.

"Why?! Why?! Why?!" Ash shouted as he repeatedly punched the ground.

He started to think about Brock, in his "dream" he was always there to guide him and help him, but he was no more real than the characters in a fairy tale. Ash thought about Misty, she was cruel at times but they were always good friends. She was imaginary, just like his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master.

"Who am I kidding, I can't become a Pokemon Master." Ash muttered as he continued walking down the road until he Vermilion City.

He decided to rent a room at a hotel and lied down in a soft bed and drifted of to sleep. As Ash began to dream he saw the Indigo Plateau and saw himself battling. Giovanni's advice echoed through his dream and Ash woke up immediately.

"Brace yourself, Lt. Surge." Ash said as he held a Pokeball in his hand and stared at the alarm clock.


	15. Surge and The Unexpected

Ash stood up and left the hotel room to find the gym. He approached the gym and opened the door.

"Well, if it isn't Ashy-boy." Gary chuckled as he saw Ash open the door.

Ash remained silent as he looked around for the gym leader.

"Don't even bother, either the gym leader left or he's abandoned the gym." Gary said as he walked out the door.

Ash stared at the trash cans before turning to leave the gym. As he walked towards the door, he tripped over a trash can and it revealed a switch. Ash began to move all the trash cans and found switches under two of them. He moved the cans back in place and flipped the switches. Suddenly, the wall in front of Ash began to move and it revealed a basement. Ash treaded slowly down the basement steps until he stood on a battlefield.

"Who was smart enough to solve my puzzle?" a man asked.

"I was." Ash replied.

Lights turned on revealing a tall, muscular man with blonde hair. He looked like he was in the military.

"There's no way a wimp like you could have ever figured out the code!" the man barked like a drill Sargent.

"I'm not a wimp and I'll prove it!" Ash shouted.

"Where are you from, son?" the man asked.

"I'm from Pallet Town, sir." Ash replied.

"Only two things come from Pallet Town, and that's steers and queers. I don't see any horns on you so you must be the latter." the man said.

"Now if you think I'm going to battle a baby like you, you're dead wrong." the man added.

"Is that because you're scared?" Ash asked.

"I am not scared of anything, I eat fear for breakfast!" the man shouted.

"Then, why won't you battle a child?" Ash asked.

"Fine, we'll battle you. But you've just opened a can of worms that you can't close, son." the man replied as he held a Pokeball.

"Bring it." Ash said with a grin.

* * *

"Raichu, front and center!" Lt. Surge hollered as he threw a Pokeball.

"Charmeleon, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he sent out his starter.

"Raichu use Hyper Beam, to blow these two pests away!" Lt. Surge yelled.

Raichu charged up the powerful orange beam and fired it at Charmeleon. Charmeleon tumbled across the dirt battlefield.

"It's our turn, Charmeleon. Use Flamethrower." Ash commanded.

Charmeleon spit a mouthful of flames at Raichu and engulfed it in the orange flames.

"Raichu, shake it off!" Lt. Surge barked.

The mouse emerged from the flames and prepared for an attack.

"Raichu use Thunderbolt." Lt. Surge ordered.

The mouse fired a yellow bolt of lightning that shocked Charmeleon. The fire type grunted and stared Raichu down. Charmeleon's fist burst into flame as it punched Raichu with its new attack.

"It'll take more than a measly Fire Punch to hurt Raichu." Lt. Surge said.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower to increase your Fire Punch attack." Ash commanded.

The flame Pokémon spit fire at its fist as it slammed into Raichu.

"Raichu use Brick Break." Lt. Surge said.

Raichu karate chopped Charmeleon over the head.

"Chameleon use Flamethrower." Ash ordered as soon as Raichu had started its attack.

Raichu couldn't escape fast enough as Ash's Charmeleon gave it a face full of hot flames.

"Finish this with Fire Punch." Ash commanded.

"Raichu use Dig." Lt. Surge said.

As Charmeleon to a swing at Raichu it tunneled underground.

"Flood the hole with flames!" Ash shouted.

The lizard-like Pokémon spit hot flames into the ground and Raichu flew up out of the ground like a geyser behind Charmeleon.

"Raichu, end this with Hyper Beam." Lt. Surge commanded.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower on the ground." Ash said.

As Raichu fired Hyper Beam at Charmeleon, Charmeleon "flew" through the air and landed behind the electric type.

"Fire Punch." Ash said as he watched Charmeleon finish Raichu off with the powerful attack.

Spirals were in Raichu's eyes as it collapsed to the ground.

"So, what was that about being a baby?" Ash asked.

"It looks like you've earned your stripes." Lt. Surge said as he handed Ash a ThunderBadge.

"Thank you." Ash said as he turned to leave.

He walked up the steps and walked out the door. As Ash left the building he ran into someone he didn't expect to see.

"Misty?" Ash asked as he spotted the red-head.


	16. Turn For the Worst

Ash stared at the red-head for a few minutes in confusion.

"Misty, is that really you?" Ash asked.

"Of course it is." Misty replied as she rolled her eyes.

"But your sisters...you...were a dream..." Ash said as he was interrupted.

"My sisters are always like that and you're awake now. I'm completely real." Misty replied.

Ash was seriously confused, he had finally convinced himself Misty wasn't real and she appeared. Something wasn't adding up.

"Ash, I need your help. Togepi was taken by Team Rocket." Misty said.

"Okay, where is Togepi?" Ash asked.

"Team Rocket followed me here and took Togepi from me." Misty replied as she began to cry.

"I'll help you get your Pokémon back." Ash said.

As he followed Misty to the city limits it dawned on him. In his "dreams" Misty released Togepi. Ash decided to test Misty.

"Hey, Mist. I caught a new Pokémon." Ash said.

"What is it?" Misty asked.

"I caught another Caterpie." Ash replied.

"That's nice, can I see it?" Misty asked.

Ash was now sure that this wasn't Misty and as soon as he saw the Team Rocket choppers surround him he knew he was tricked.

"Darn you all." Ash said except he didn't say darn.

He felt a poke and a shock. Then he blacked out.

* * *

"It appears that tapping into his mind was easy. He missed his girlfriend and we used that weakness against him." James said to Archer.

"We killed your uncle, now you're next." Archer said as he saw Ash wake up.

"Once I'm free from these chains Archer..." Ash said as he was punched in the face by the gangster leader.

"You won't do a thing, and we won't be the one disposing of you. Lt. Surge gave you a badge that read your mind. We have decided to use your precious Misty against you." Archer said as he laughed.

"You should've seen the look on your face when you saw the 'twerpette'." Meowth taunted.

"You see, we had one of our junior agents disguise as your girlfriend to bring you here." Archer explained.

Ash gritted his teeth and tried to free himself from his chains.

"Giovanni can't save you this time." Archer said as he held a laser bazooka.

"You won't get away with this!" Ash shouted.

"I already have, now hold still. This won't hurt...too much." Archer said as he was about to pull the trigger.

A large orange beam of energy hit Archer before he could shoot Ash. A man with brown hair and dark glasses returned a Dragonite to its Pokeball.

"Come with me if you want to live!" the man shouted as he cut Ash free.

Ash ran through the base as he followed the man.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"I'm Lance of the Elite Four, Giovanni and I are going to spring you out of this place." the man replied.

"Wait, Giovanni?" Ash asked in shock as he finally saw daylight as they reached the base's entrance.

"Hold it right there!" a group of Team Rocket grunts ordered as they had a swarm of Crobat hovering above Ash and Lance.

"I think the word you're looking for is freeze." a man said as he and his Blastoise emerged from the shadows.

The Blastoise froze the Team Rocket agents in a large block of ice after firing an Ice Beam. Ash recognized the man immediately as his uncle.

"We need to get out of here." Giovanni said.

"But I have a surprise for Archer." Giovanni added as he held a cell phone.

* * *

"Hello." Archer said got up and answered his phone after finally recovering from the Hyper Beam attack.

"You have some presents for me?" Archer asked as he looked out the window just like the voice on the phone said.

He saw a large block of ice with a squadron of Rocket soldiers in it.

"Who is this?!" Archer demanded but no one was there and only a dial tone remained.

As he hung up his phone he saw a note on the table.

"Look at my clock?" Archer asked.

Set under his wall clock was an explosive with thirty seconds remaining. Archer and the Team Rocket trio hid in his bomb shelter as the bomb vaporized his base.

"Only Giovanni could have planned something like this, he has declared war on our organization years ago. It's time to end this war." Archer said as he smirked.

"Hunt them down like dogs!" Archer shouted to the Trio.


	17. War Drums

Archer stood on the smoldering ruins of his base as he watched the Team Rocket trio take off in a car.

"Mark my words Giovanni, we will find you!" Archer shouted.

* * *

Ash, Giovanni, and Lance had successfully escaped Team Rocket's clutches. They made their way to an underground shelter. Ash's jaw dropped in amazement as he stared at the large bunker. It had everything.

"Where are we?" Ash asked.

"We are a one of my old secret bases." Giovanni replied.

"A base with computers that are hooked up to cameras?!" Ash asked.

"I got a lot of money after becoming a champion." Giovanni said.

"We'll wait until nightfall to continue traveling." Lance said.

"I believe Archer and Team Rocket are on the brink of achieving control of Kanto." Giovanni said.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

"Archer has ties to destroy Kanto." Giovanni replied.

"Uncle Giovanni." Ash said.

"Yes, Ash." Giovanni said.

"I'm afraid, they know everything about my dreams. They are going to use them against me." Ash said.

Giovanni took a deep breath.

"Ash, you have to let go. Those dreams didn't happen, but you can create your own future. If you worry all your life, you'll never achieve anything." Giovanni said.

Ash looked down at the floor as he sighed.

"What was my father like?" Ash asked.

"Your father David and I were best friends when we were kids. He always looked up to me, he vowed that he'd be just as good as me when he became a trainer. When I disappeared he searched everywhere for me. And you remember what I told you about Mt. Silver. You have his personality, he was very confident in his abilities, and he cared for his Pokémon." Giovanni said.

"What was my mom like?" Ash asked.

"Delia was a lot like what you described you saw in your dreams." Giovanni replied.

"Thanks, I don't know why I can't remember anything up to the hospital." Ash said.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the bunker.

"Team Rocket." Giovanni groaned as he checked the cameras.

"They must have followed us here." Lance said.

Team Rocket's chopper fired missiles down towards the base.

"We need to get out of here." Lance said.

"How will we get out of here?" Ash asked.

"Leave that to me." Giovanni said.

A large SUV drove down the road and Team Rocket chased after the speeding vehicle. While Team Rocket chased the SUV, Ash, Giovanni, and Lance drove off in a convertible.

"Where are we going?" Ash asked.

"We are going to alert the G-Men of Team Rocket's activities." Giovanni replied.

"Who are the G-Men?" Ash asked.

"We'll explain when we get there." Lance said.

* * *

Ash, Giovanni, and Lance arrived at a large building and they entered it. Lance and Giovanni entered an elevator that led to a conference room.

"Good morning." an old man said.

"Mr. Goodshow, it has begun." Lance said.

"Oh my! Have they succeeded?" Goodshow asked.

"Not yet." Giovanni replied.

"They must be stopped if Archer has the weapons you believe you saw, he'll demand that all of Kanto bow to his rule." Goodshow said.

"Can any tell me what the heck is going on here?!" Ash demanded.

"There's no other way to say it, but Team Rocket is done with their peaceful negotiations. They are going to resort to nuclear tactics. They have explosives that can vaporize entire cities and they are hours away from capturing Ho-Oh to create an explosion that could vaporize Kanto." Lance explained.

Ash nearly fainted after the explanation. This was not the Team Rocket of his dreams, he was dealing with a terrorist organization. In order to achieve his dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master, he had to help disband the most dangerous mob in the world. And from what he could tell, they had the trump card.

"Both David and I knew their plan for years. But we thought they were bluffing." Giovanni said.

"What I'd do to have my brother here fighting beside me." Giovanni added as he sat down.

"Giovanni, you called." a man with black hair, brown eyes, a red sweatshirt, and black jeans said as he smirked.

* * *

_Author's Note: Surprise! Things are going to get rolling in the next chapter because an impending war looms in the distance._


	18. Last Shot

Giovanni stared at his brother and circled him.

"What's your name?" Giovanni asked to see if he was an imposture.

"David Ketchum, but everyone called me Gold because of my bright yellow baseball cap I used to wear." the man replied.

Giovanni stared the man standing before him in the eyes.

"You can't possibly be alive, I saw you buried in the cemetery." Giovanni said.

"That's why I caught one of these." David said as he threw a Pokeball.

A purple blob stood in front of Lance, Giovanni, and Ash. Giovanni still wasn't buying it.

"Why would you do something like this?!" Giovanni asked.

"So I could obtain these." David replied as he held three white sheets of paper with black print on them.

Lance and Giovanni stared at the papers and gasped.

"How did you get these?!" Lance asked.

"Undercover work." David said.

"I have a feeling the tide has turned in our favor." Giovanni said with a smirk.

"Don't get to excited yet, these are only half of the launch codes." David added.

"Half?" Lance asked.

"Delia has the other half." David explained.

"Then have her bring them to us." Giovanni said.

"I can't." David replied.

"Why not?" Giovanni asked.

"Because she's trapped at a Team Rocket facility and I couldn't free her in time." David muttered softly as he stared down at the ground.

"Again, can anyone tell me what is going on here?!" Ash demanded as he got up from his seat.

"Ash! How are you?" David asked.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"I'm your father." David said.

"Why did you leave without even saying anything?!" Ash hissed.

"Because I didn't want you to get involved!" David replied.

"Wait, you brought Ash here?!" David asked Giovanni as his anger started to rise.

"He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Ash..started his journey and found his way here." Giovanni said.

"Right now, we need to focus on Team Rocket." Lance said.

"Team Rocket has Koffing missile silos, Wheezing Bombs or whatever they call them now, and they may have Ho-Oh to create the Sacred Fire bomb." David said.

"How much longer until they start a full war?" Giovanni asked.

"Archer is sick of waiting, he's starting the invasion tonight. He has all the other mob bosses working with him because he promised them a share of the cut." David said.

"So, we have to fight back now." Giovanni said.

"Yep, we have until midnight." David said.

"Have you informed the other Champions?" Giovanni asked.

"Team Rocket is jamming all radio transmissions, fortunately Charles called a meeting in Vermilion City." David said.

"Who will inform them?" Lance asked.

"I'll inform them." Ash said.

"Ash, it's too dangerous." David said.

Ash shook his head.

"I know I can get there." Ash said.

"No, I might have already lost Delia. I'm not losing you." David sighed.

"You were my age when you when on your journey, and Uncle Giovanni said it was just as dangerous." Ash said.

David paused for a moment and thought about it.

"Fine, but be careful." David said as he hugged Ash and handed him a Pokeball.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"A way to get to Vermilion City, stay away from the gym. Lt. Surge hasn't been there for years. Team Rocket owns that gym." David advised as he saw Ash open the Pokeball.

A large horse with a flaming mane stood in front of Ash.

"Rapidash." Ash muttered.

Memories started to flood back into his mind as he thought about his "friends".

"They would want me to save Kanto." Ash said as he got on the horse and rode off down the road.

* * *

"While he warns Charles and the other champions, we need to get the other launch codes and free Delia." David said.

"We can't just storm into Team Rocket's base." Giovanni said.

"That never stopped you from doing that when you were a kid." David said.

"I was younger and dumber." Giovanni replied.

"What other choice do we have?" David asked.

Giovanni paused to think.

"I guess we don't have any other options, hopefully Ash provides us backup." Giovanni said.

"How are we going to descend on Team Rocket's base?" Lance asked.

David just smiled as he pointed up in the air at the sky.


	19. Bitter Reunions

Ash hung on to the back off Rapidash as the horse galloped down the road. He looked around and it appeared as if several choppers were hovering on the horizon. The choppers kept getting closer and closer. Ash had gotten the attention of Team Rocket.

* * *

Giovanni flew on the back of his Charizard and stared into the nighttime sky. He always enjoyed staring at the stars. David's Pidgeot flew beside him, and Lance and his Dragonite weren't too far behind. They slowly approached a large factory-like complex. Several Crobat were released by the guards. Several sky blue energy blasts were thrown by the Crobat.

"Watch out for those Air Cutter attacks." Giovanni warned the rest of the squad as his Charizard made a dive.

"Dragonite use Hyper Beam!" Lance shouted.

Dragonite fired the bright orange beam into the metal towers on the side of the building. Several choppers took off and started to fire lasers at the men.

"I need cover fire." David said to his brother.

Giovanni nodded as the Ketchums landed on the roof. His Charizard spit fire to create a barrier for David when he landed inside the building.

"You Ketchum boys are just in time." Archer said as he smirked.

"I thought I smelled a Raticate." Giovanni said with a grin.

* * *

The choppers chasing Ash fired a rapid fire laser blaster. Ash had Rapidash leaped a fence to disappear into the forest.

"This will give us a little bit of cover." Ash muttered as he continued to try to find his way to Vermilion City.

He could see the lights of Vermilion from a mile away. The difficult part would be getting there. Ash had Rapidash return to the road and the horse galloped down the road. Ash saw something quite a bit farther down the road, and he squinted to see it.

* * *

"You Ketchums dare insult me again, and I'll drop that cage into the Sharpedo tank." Archer threatened.

David gritted his teeth and reached for a Pokeball on his belt.

"I see you're going for your secret weapon." Archer mocked.

David's anger increased even more as he stared at his wife Delia trapped in the cage.

"No fire type can help you." Archer said.

* * *

"It's a blockade." Ash muttered.

He was at a crossroads. Jump it and find Mr. Goodshow. Or turn back. Ash made his decision, Rapidash galloped at full speed and cleared the cars in a single jump.

"Get him!" men yelled.

Ash looked over his shoulder to see several grunts following him on motorcycles as he turned the corner.

"I'm going to have to lose them if I want to get backup." Ash thought.

* * *

"Let her go!" David shouted.

"Sorry, I can't do that. It wouldn't be as fun." Archer said.

David sent out his Typhlosion and it burnt the cage to a crisp and Giovanni's Charizard grabbed Delia before she fell into the tank of ravenous Sharpedo.

"You're all out of cards." David said with a smile as he ran over to his wife.

"I wouldn't say that." Lance said as he smirked.

Several Team Rocket grunts stood beside him before zapping the heroes with stun guns. Before Giovanni passed out he muttered.

"Why, Lance?" the eldest Ketchum said before everything turned black.

* * *

Ash tried to lose the thugs by turning corners, but as he turned another corner he lost his grip. He fell off Rapidash and hit the cold, hard pavement.

"Game over, kid." one of the grunts said as he grabbed Ash by the collar and tossed him into the back of a truck.

"Hopefully things are going better for Uncle Giovanni." Ash grumbled.

* * *

As David, Giovanni, and Delia woke up they were greeted by Archer.

"You will all get to see your failure! All of Kanto will either bow to me or be destroyed!" Archer shouted.

"Ash will be arriving here with backup shortly and you'll be sorry you threatened us." Giovanni said.

"Oh, do you mean this boy?" Archer asked as he had Jessie and James bring Ash into the room.

"No." Delia muttered.

"It's over, your last shot has missed." Archer said as he smirked.


	20. Countdown

"Lance, guard the prisoners while I get the missiles ready." Archer said.

"Yes, sir." Lance said as he saluted as he watched Archer leave.

"Why did you do it, Lance?" Giovanni asked.

"I'm tired of playing second fiddle to you and David. You took away my title as Champion, Charles always thought you were the better trainers, and he gave you all the credit every time we stopped Team Rocket! Your own friends did that!" Lance replied in anger.

"I'm your friend, I never thought I was better and I never wanted the attention. You're lying to yourself." Giovanni said.

"I'm afraid you're wrong, you knew all along. You continue to lie to me. I know the truth, Giovanni." Lance said.

"Why would you help the very organization that you despised?" David asked.

"They paid me a handsome amount of money, and I wanted revenge." Lance answered.

"Revenge? For what?" David asked.

"You two took everything from me! And I swore I'd get my revenge." Lance said.

As David and Giovanni were talking to Lance, Delia and Ash were trying to figure out a way to break the chains that bound them to the wall.

"You're wasting your time, you're also lucky Archer wants to take care of you four himself or I would have activated this device." Lance said.

Lance held up a remote.

"Those chains are electrified." Lance added.

"You'll pay for this." David said.

"And yet you say this while you are bound by chains." Lance taunted.

Unknown to Lance, Ash had broken free from his chains.

"You mean these chains?" Ash asked as he held a Pokeball.

"How did you escape?!" Lance gasped.

"You shouldn't be putting kids in chains that are bigger than their arms." Ash said as he sent out his Charmeleon.

The fire type spit flames at the other chains, and the rest of the team broke free as the steel melted. Lance ran down the hall, but was stopped by Delia and her Mr. Mime.

"Mimey use Psychic." Delia said.

Lance was frozen in place by the attack.

"Where's Archer headed?" Giovanni asked.

"I won't tell you." Lance replied.

"We could just throw him out the window." David suggested to intimidate Lance.

"Mimey, drop..." Delia said as she was interrupted.

"No! They left to go underground to their nuclear weapons facility." Lance forced out.

"Where is the facility?" Giovanni asked.

"Two miles from this base." Lance said.

"Thanks." David said as they took his Pokémon and locked him in a closet.

"You wouldn't leave a friend." Lance said.

"A friend, no. You, yes." Giovanni replied as they left to chase down Archer.

* * *

"Finally, the world will bow to Team Rocket!" Archer shouted as he set up the missiles and hacked the global news feed.

Just before Archer was going to make his announcements, he was interrupted by Domino and the Team Rocket trio.

"The prisoners escaped." James warned.

"The Ketchum family is a very tough family to get rid of." Archer said.

The mob boss held two Pokeballs.

"I'll have to take care of Giovanni and David myself." Archer added as he turned off the cameras and activated the launch sequence.

"I thought you were going to make demands first." Jessie said.

"I can rule over a crater in the ground just as easily as a city." Archer replied coldly.

A red countdown clock flashed and showed there was only an hour before the weapons would either launch or detonate.


	21. The End? (Of Kanto, that is)

The Ketchum family sprinted down the hall and was face to face with Archer.

"I see Lance failed at his job." Archer said bitterly.

"It's time to end this!" Giovanni shouted as he stepped forward.

Suddenly, a steel wall dropped down in front of the eldest Ketchum. He pulled his Pokeball containing Charizard out from his pocket.

"Charizard use Blast Burn." Giovanni commanded.

Charizard spit a mouthful of blue flames from its mouth. The fire was deflected by the metal door.

"Sorry, old chap! But that won't work this time." Archer said through a microphone.

"We're doomed." David Ketchum muttered as he stared at the walls.

"There isn't any weaknesses in the walls." Delia added as she had her Mr. Mime hit the wall with several attacks.

"He really thought this through." Giovanni said as he sent out Pikachu.

The mouse fired a lightning bolt at the wall. The lightning traveled through the door, but the door was grounded.

David and Giovanni had their Typhlosion and Charizard attack the door with Blast Burn.

"Not even warm!" David exclaimed as he felt the wall.

Ash leaned up against the wall and it dawned on him as a stared at the speaker in the wall.

"I have an idea." Ash said as he pointed at the wall.

Giovanni and David stared at the young trainer in shock.

"There's a speaker here." Ash said.

"Why didn't I think of that?!" Giovanni shouted as he had his Charizard break the speaker and his Pikachu climbed into the hole that Charizard burnt with Overheat.

The electric type managed to squirm its way to the other speaker and destroy it with a powerful Thunder attack. The mouse opened the door from the other side.

"Come on, we don't much time!" Giovanni shouted as he rushed down the hall.

The Ketchums managed to arrive in Archer's "control room". He had thousands of weapons and computers in the large room. Delia spotted a large countdown clock.

"We have twenty minutes." Delia said.

The Pokémon Champion began to, frantically, press buttons on the control panels.

"We don't have enough time." Giovanni said as he began to type in launch codes.

Giovanni's blood ran cold when he heard Archer's laugh.

"You're pathetic to believe you can stop me." Archer said as he held a remote.

"What is that?" Delia asked.

"A remote to have a mind controlled Ho-Oh unleash Sacred Fire on my storehouse of nuclear weapons." Archer replied.

"You're bluffing." David said.

"Am I? That's a risk you don't want to take." Archer said with a sly grin.

"Now, I'm willing to drop the remote and take control of Kanto without using explosive tactics if you all surrender." Archer said.

"Fine, just promise not to harm any people." Giovanni said.

"You have my word." Archer said.

The Ketchums stepped back from the computers.

"You'll find that you made the right choice." Archer said as he held the remote.

"Oops, it slipped." Archer said as he dropped the remote.

The small detonator slowly fell through the air.

"Goodbye, Kanto. Hello, Team Rocket Empire." Archer said as he watched the object fall.

* * *

_Author's Note: Cliffhanger. I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I'm having some serious writer's block, which is the reason why this is a shorter chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please Review, Swordsman4 out! _


	22. Checkmate?

The detonator landed on a pillow and three minions appeared. Archer was caught in a net that Meowth fired from a bazooka.

"Prepare for trouble." Jessie said.

"Make it double." James added as he picked up the detonator.

"You two!" Archer hissed as he realized he was betrayed.

"We're going to give you an offer you can't refuse." James said.

"You take Archer into custody, we give you the detonator, and we go back to last week's borders. But in exchange we leave scot-free and untouched." Jessie added.

Giovanni began to think and he talked it over with his brother.

"We accept those terms." Giovanni and David said.

"Ya made da right choice!" Meowth shouted as he slid the net over to Giovanni and took the battery out of the detonator before tossing it to Giovanni.

The entire Team Rocket organization began to leave the base.

"We can't just left these guys get away with their crimes!" Ash shouted.

"I'll take a Kanto with Team Rocket in it, rather than a Kanto sized crater." Giovanni said calmly.

Ash gritted his teeth as he watched the evil organization abandon the base. After Team Rocket left, Ash realized he was able to continue his journey. It was about time to head to Celadon City.

"I better get going." Ash said.

"Be careful, Team Rocket is still as active as ever. They'll be back." Giovanni warned.

Ash nodded.

"We'll be here anytime you need us." Delia added as she hugged her son like an Arbok.

Ash squirmed as he tried to escape.

"We'll be seeing you later." David said.

"We?" Ash wondered before he left.

* * *

Ash began to try to make his way back to the right road. As he wandered his way back to Vermilion a familiar face stopped him. He cringed as an all too familiar voice echoed through the air.

"Oh, Ashy-boy!" the voice shouted.

That only meant one thing, Gary Oak.

"Out of all the people to run into right now." Ash groaned.

"I spy something stupid." Gary said.

"Really, you do? Are you looking in a mirror again?" Ash asked.

"What took you so long to get here?" Gary asked.

"Hmm. I decided to...take the scenic route." Ash lied.

"I could've rode a Torterra here and still arrived here earlier than you." Gary boasted.

Ash took a minute to think about what to say.

"Are you here to yap all day or what?" Ash asked.

"No, I want a rematch." Gary replied.

"We'll see, my Pokémon are exhausted." Ash said.

Ash turned to leave so he could get his Pokémon healed.

"Of course you're backing out." Gary said.

Ash turned to face the arrogant trainer.

"I'm not backing out." Ash said.

"Sure you aren't, Ashy-boy." Gary said to taunt him.

Ash held a Pokeball in his hand.

"You want a rematch, you've got one." Ash said.

* * *

_Author's Note: It's back, it's kinda short. But it's back! _


	23. Fearow, It Just Had To Be Fearow

Gary only smirked as he held a Pokeball.

"Too bad you're going to lose Ashy-boy." the cocky trainer said as he threw the orb.

A Wartortle stood in front of Gary and it had a smirk similar to that of his rivals'.

"Are you a broken record now, Gary?" Ash asked as he threw a Pokeball.

A purple bat screeched as it hovered above Ash's head.

"Wartortle use Hydro Pump." Gary said.

The turtle spit a fountain of water at Golbat and caused it to hit the ground. The bat flailed around as it tried to get up.

"Golbat use Haze." Ash said.

A thick smoke made it difficult to see.

"Nice try Ashy-boy, Wartortle use Ice Punch." Gary commanded.

Wartortle charged straight into the thick smoke.

"Golbat use Wing Attack." Ash said.

The poison type collided into Wartortle with its now glowing wings.

"Wartortle use Hydro Pump." Gary said.

"Golbat use Double Team." Ash said.

The water turtle opened its mouth to fire a stream of water, but it couldn't hit the real Golbat.

"Golbat use Supersonic." Ash said.

The purple bat revealed that it was behind Wartortle and let loose a loud shriek. The noise confused Wartortle and the turtle started to hit its head on the ground.

"Wartortle use Rest." Gary said.

The water type fell asleep to regain its strength.

"Golbat use Sludge Bomb." Ash said.

The bat spit chunks of purple goo at Wartortle that dealt some serious damage. The turtle woke up and was hit by one last blast of sludge. Wartortle fell over and swirls were seen in its eyes.

"You got lucky this time, Ashy-boy. I'll beat you next time. Smell ya later!" the strange boy said.

Ash found his rival very odd, he remembered why Gary annoyed him in his dream world. His arrogance really began to grow old. Oddly enough, Gary had the same Pokémon from his dream. Ash stared at the long, winding road ahead of him. He walked down the road and smiled as he stopped at Route Seven. As he reached the said road, he was horrified to see several Fearow attacking a Bulbasaur along the side of the road. Ash rushed over to the grass type.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" he shouted as he sent out the electric type.

The mouse squeaked and saw the large birds.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said.

The lightning type shocked the Fearow and scared them off. Ash picked up the small Bulbasaur and held it in its arms.

"We better get this Bulbasaur to the Pokémon Center." Ash said.

As Ash and Pikachu ran down the road, he looked back to see a large flock of Fearow following them.

"Fearow, it just has to be Fearow." Ash groaned as he was in a full sprint.

The birds started to fire large orange energy beams at Ash. He tripped over a tree root and fell down. The birds began to make a terrible hissing noise as they tried to pry the grass type from his hands.

"You will not take this Bulbasaur from me!" Ash shouted.

The Fearow began to peck Ash and Bulbasaur.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said.

The mouse tilted its head but obeyed Ash's command and shocked him along with the birds. The birds fell to the ground and fainted after being shocked. Ash let out a huge sigh of relief, the tiny grass type wouldn't be a Fearow play toy today.

"Let's go, Pikachu." Ash said as he picked up the grass type and carried him into Celadon City.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm back with another update. I'm sorry to tell my fans, my updates will be further between effective June 1, due to my hectic schedule. Well that and moving. I might not have internet for a while in my new home. Please read and review. Swordsman4 out! _


	24. Acceptance

Ash dashed towards the Pokémon Center and entered the automatic doors. He looked around frantically for someone to help him and the Bulbasaur he had with him. The Pokémon Center seemed empty and lifeless. Hardly anyone was there, and it seemed shorthanded. Hardly anyone worked in the large hospital. The Pokémon Centers seemed much bigger than the ones in his "dreams". Ash rang the chrome bell on the desk multiple times. He was slightly annoyed that no one came over to the desk. A woman approached the desk and faked a smile.

"We're kind of shorthanded today, if you don't have an emergency you'll have to wait in the lobby." she said as she pointed to a room full of chairs.

Ash sat down in a green chair and held the injured grass type. He wasn't sure if this was an emergency or not. The grass type appeared to be fine and in a stable condition. Ash started to think about his Bulbasaur, well the one from his dreams.

"Bulbasaur really got me through some tough jams." Ash muttered.

He thought about the Battle Frontier and how Bulbasaur beat Dusclops. It felt like he had been waiting for hours. Ash looked up at the wall clock. Apparently, it had been hours. Ash didn't realize he had dozed off in the chair. He took his Bulbasaur to the desk and handed it to a doctor. Ash sat in the chair again. He glanced at his Pokegear and decided to call home.

"Hello." Ash said.

"Hello, sweetheart." Delia said as she recognized Ash's voice immediately.

"How are things at home?" Ash asked.

"Good, your father and your uncle left to continue their journeys." Delia said.

"Where did they go?" Ash asked.

"Your father wanted to make sure Lance was transported to prison without incident and your uncle hasn't said where he's going. He was very mysterious. He said something about visiting an old friend." Delia replied.

The past Ash knew was very different from reality. It was still very difficult to wrap his head around the fact that his sworn enemy was his uncle. After finishing the conversation, Ash fell back asleep. It was starting to come back to him.

* * *

He saw a younger version of himself standing next to his uncle Giovanni.

"I'm not sure you should be out here while my Pokémon are training, I wouldn't want you to get hurt." Giovanni said.

"Please can I watch your Pokémon battle." Ash pleaded.

Ash could see the nervous look on Giovanni's face.

"I guess." he groaned.

Ash saw his face light up like a Christmas tree. His uncle sent out his Pikachu and his Charizard.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Giovanni said.

The electric mouse fired a powerful lightning bolt at Charizard. The fire type blocked the attack with its wing. The attack hit Ash in the process.

* * *

As Ash woke up the pieces fell into place. His true past returned to his memory. The memories from his dreams were still alive, but they were just that. Dreams. He saw how he got where he was and he found something else. Acceptance. He accepted what happened. Still one thing confused him.

"Then what were the point of those dreams." Ash wondered.

Immediately it struck him, his dreams gave him a goal. Ash saw what his uncle did and what his father did. In order to be the best he had to become even stronger than them. As he stared at his Pikachu's Pokeball and he smirked. He might not have his dream Pokémon, but he had Pokémon. He might not be the trainer he was in his dreams, but he was a trainer. Ash knew at that moment that he was ready to take the next step. He was ready for whatever challenge was thrown his way. He was ready to achieve his goals. As the doctor came out to the lobby he brought the grass type.

"It's good to see you're feeling better." Ash said to the Bulbasaur.

The grass type leaped up on Ash.

"It looks like it really likes you." the doctor said.

"Would you like to join me, Bulbasaur?" Ash asked.

"Bulb!" the grass type shouted as it touched the Pokeball Ash set on the floor.

The grass type was caught in the red and white orb. Ash now had himself a Bulbasaur. As Ash exited the Pokémon Center, he stared at the Celadon Gym.

"It's time to make my dreams a reality." Ash said.

* * *

_Author's Note: I couldn't resist listening to the original Pokémon Theme while writing this. It has to be the best Pokemon intro ever. Oh, well. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review. _

_Swordsman4 out! _


	25. Rainbow Badge Battle!

As Ash left the Pokémon Center he had a new wave of confidence. He began to search for the gym. Ash chuckled as he saw a large Gloom-shaped building.

"The more things change...I guess." Ash muttered as he entered the gym.

A teenage girl stood in the middle of a greenhouse and watered several plants.

"Hello." Ash said to get, what he presumed was gym leader, the girl's attention.

"You must be a challenger, I am Erika. I love to study flowers and flower arranging." Erika said.

"I am Ash Ketchum and I challenge you to a Pokémon battle." the trainer from Pallet Town declared.

"I accept." Erika said calmly as she sent out a Vileplume.

Ash smirked as he held a Pokeball. He threw the red and white orb that opened after it hit the ground. A blue turtle was revealed after the white light surrounding it faded.

"Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash commanded.

The turtle opened its mouth and spit out a blue stream of icy cold water. Vileplume was hardly effected by the water.

"That's just a light shower to my Vileplume." Erika taunted.

Ash laughed.

"I wasn't trying to deal damage with that attack." Ash said cryptically.

"Vileplume use Stun Spore." Erika said calmly.

The flower on Vileplume's head released a fine orange dust the covered Squirtle. The water type couldn't move after being covered in the pollen.

"Vileplume use Solarbeam." Erika said.

Vileplume took in the light from the spotlights above the battlefield and charged up the powerful attack. Ash began to think and stared at the still soaking wet Vileplume. A light bulb flicked on in Ash's mind and caused him to smirk.

"Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash said.

The turtle spit water at the ground and the liquid splattered everywhere. As the water flowed across the dirt battlefield it created a trench that filled with water and washed the pollen off.

"Squirtle use Water Gun to drench Vileplume!" Ash shouted.

The turtle leaped up and saw an oncoming Solarbeam attack flying towards it. The water type turned to the side to dodge the attack and spit a burst of ice water on Vileplume.

"Squirtle use Ice Beam." Ash said calmly as he watched the turtle freeze Vileplume solid with a lightning bolt shaped beam of ice.

The ice shattered and revealed an unconscious Vileplume. Erika returned the grass type to its Pokeball and smiled.

"You are quite the challenger, but I'm not finished." she said as she threw a Ultra Ball.

"Bellossom!" the Pokémon shouted.

"Bellossom use Magical Leaf." Erika said.

"Dodge it, Squirtle." Ash said.

Bellossom launched white leaves at Squirtle that followed it as it dodged the attack. The turtle was hit in the back with the leaves and it fell over. Squirtle was flipped on its shell and couldn't get up.

"Bellossom, finish this with Leaf Blade." Erika commanded.

Before Ash could blink, the grass type had struck Squirtle with a powerful Leaf Blade attack. Squirtle's eyes had large black swirls in it indicating it had fainted.

"Squirtle, return." Ash said as he held up the water type's Pokeball.

"You fought well." he told the turtle.

"What are you going to do now?" Erika asked.

"I'll tell you." Ash said as he turned his hat backwards.

"Golbat, I choose you!" he shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

The purple bat stared into Bellossom's eyes and identified it.

"Golbat use Wing Attack." Ash said.

Golbat took off in a blur and struck Bellossom with its wings.

"Bellossom use Stun Spore." Erika said.

The flowers on Bellossom's head sent out a fine orange dust that covered Golbat. The bat fell to the ground and couldn't even lift its wings.

"Bellossom use Leaf Storm." Erika said.

The grass type surrounded itself with green leaves and readied itself to fire them at Golbat. The leaves spun in a cyclone-like motion as they flew towards Golbat.

* * *

_Cliffhanger alert! The dramatic conclusion to Ash's Celadon gym battle will be finished in the next chapter. Please review and feel free to place suggestions. I'm not promising anything, but I'll consider it. _

_PS: I will be free to continue updates because we have internet at my new house! Well, that's all folks! Until next time, Swordsman4._


	26. Next Stop, Viridian!

Golbat began to glow bright white as it stared at the leaves. A Crobat took to the skies and let out a loud shout that echoed through the gym. Bellossom stumbled around after the loud shockwaves of Supersonic hit it.

"Crobat use Wing Attack." Ash said.

The purple bat slammed into Bellossom with its wings and celebrated as it watched it fall.

"Bellossom use Magical Leaf." Erika said.

"Sludge Bomb." Ash said.

Crobat fired balls of brown sludge at Bellossom before it could attack. The grass type collapsed and fainted.

"You can't beat me!" Erika shouted.

Ash only smirked as if he was taunting the gym leader. The smirk must have been a family thing, his father and uncle were notorious for smirking just before a victory.

"Gloom, let's beat that Crobat!" Erika hollered.

"Gloom use Solarbeam." Erika commanded.

Ash chuckled as he watched Gloom step into the light.

"Crobat use Haze." Ash said calmly.

The bat coughed up a black smoke that surrounded Gloom, and more importantly stopped it from fully charging Solarbeam.

"Crobat use Wing Attack." Ash said.

The flying-poison type's wings glowed white before it hit Gloom. The stinky grass type collapsed and fainted. Ash was surprised that he had won so quickly. Was it possible he underestimated his abilities in his dreams?

"You beat me?" Erika asked.

Ash nodded.

"I guess you deserve this." Erika said as she handed Ash a multicolored, flower-shaped badge.

"Thanks." Ash said before turning to leave.

As he left the gym, he noticed something very odd. The Pokémon Center seemed out of place. Ash saw movement in his peripheral vision. Suddenly, two familiar people leaped in front of him.

"Hello, twerp!" the people shouted.

"Team Rocket." Ash grumbled.

"We're bringing you trouble." James said.

"This will probably burst your bubble." Jessie added.

"But we're going to take your Pokémon and vaporize you on the double!" Meowth added as he held a bazooka.

A large green laser beam zapped a telephone pole and turned it into dust. Ash's eyes widened as the beams were fired at a rapid pace.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he sent out his electric mouse.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash hollered.

The lightning hit the trio, but had no effect.

"Insolated boots and suits." James taunted as he pointed at the gear.

"Tis' ain't dream land! We aren't fools." Meowth added as he fired another beam.

A large mailbox fell on top of Ash, and James stood on it to pin him down.

"I've got point blank shot." Meowth said as he pointed the blaster at Ash.

"Save the ammo, we'll have Wheezing blow him to smithereens." James said as he pushed the bazooka down.

"You'll do no such thing!" a voice shouted.

A yellow mouse with red cheeks fired an orb of electricity at the trio.

"Nice try, Giovanni. But you're too late to stop us this time and your Pikachu's aim is horrible." Meowth said.

"Pikachu and I weren't aiming at you." Giovanni replied.

Meowth looked over and saw a green fire hydrant rupture. Water drenched the trio and sent them flying backwards. The trio took off to escape Giovanni's next attack.

"I see you got yourself in trouble again." Giovanni said as he chuckled and lifted the mailbox up.

"You have a Pikachu?!" Ash gasped.

"Yep, the strongest one in existence." Giovanni replied.

"Getting in over your head must be a family trait. I can't tell you how many times David and I stumbled upon Team Rocket." Giovanni said.

Ash chuckled at the remark.

"I should warn you, the gyms beyond Celadon are closed. Only Viridian City is open. All the gym leaders are at a meeting. Except for a friend of mine, he never attends those things. He says it's well worth the thousand dollar fine." Giovanni said.

"Thank you for the heads up." Ash said.

Giovanni nodded and smiled.

"I'll see you at the Indigo Plateau." Giovanni added.

Ash was confused by what he meant by that, but shook it off. He had to get to Viridian City. He looked at a jet taking off from the Celadon airport and smiled.

"Next stop, Viridian." Ash muttered.


	27. Meeting the Gym Leader

As Ash boarded a large jet, he sat in the back row and began to think. He began to think about his "dreams", what would his friends say about him now? He was better than he dreamed of, his potential was enormous. Ash watched as the plane took off into the sky. The blue skies relaxed him and he kicked back to relax. Ash began to think about his next gym battle. Who was the gym leader at the Viridian Gym? The gym leader must be very headstrong if he refuses to go to the conferences for gym leaders. Ash felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over him from his travels and the trainer fell asleep.

* * *

As he woke up he saw the plane slowing down and landing on a concrete runway. The passengers got up as the plane screeched to a halt and Ash followed suit. As he walked down the steps, Ash looked up to see the bright sky darkening. He scampered out of the airport and wandered his way into town. Ash shuddered as a familiar voice echoed through the air.

"I bet you're all here to watch the famous Gary Oak beat the Viridian City gym leader." the arrogant Oak boy said as he stepped forward to enter the gym.

"Hasn't changed a bit." Ash muttered as he entered the gym and sat in the stands to watch his rival.

Ash wanted to get an idea what he was dealing with. Gary was essentially the same as his dreams, but he wanted to make sure he didn't have any other surprises up his sleeve.

"I'm going to beat you easily." Gary told the gym leader.

"We'll see about that, no one is better than me." the gym leader replied.

Ash stared at the gym leader and raised his eyebrow. Something seemed familiar, the brown hair, the cocky demeanor, and the stare all seemed familiar.

"Pick your Pokémon." the gym leader said.

"Blastoise, go!" Gary shouted.

"Tyranitar, I choose you!" the gym leader shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

"You're losing touch, Blastoise will steamroll Tyranitar." Gary taunted.

"Use Hydro Cannon." Gary commanded.

The massive turtle fired a ball of icy water at Tyranitar that exploded on impact. Ash could tell Gary's Pokémon were tougher than ever.

"Tyranitar use Payback." the gym leader said.

Tyranitar glowed a dark purple before it slammed into Blastoise with an attack that sent it flying backwards.

"Blastoise use Hydro Cannon." Gary said.

Ash was shocked to see that the water type fired another Hydro Cannon attack that hit Tyranitar.

"Blastoise can recharge its power faster than you can blink." Gary boasted to the gym leader.

"Big deal. Tyranitar use Hyper Beam." the gym leader said.

The rock dark type fired a bright red beam that engulfed Blastoise and knocked it out.

"What?!" Gary gasped as Blastoise collapsed.

Ash's jaw dropped in awe of the power of Tyranitar.

"Nidoking, let's go!" Gary shouted as he sent out the poison ground type.

"Nidoking use Ice Beam." Gary commanded.

"Tyranitar use Blizzard." the gym leader said as he smirked.

Tyranitar's icy attack overpowered Nidoking's attack and as the snow subsided it revealed an unconscious Nidoking.

"Skarmory, let's go!" Gary shouted.

"Tyranitar use Fire Blast." the gym leader said.

Tyranitar unleashed a fiery letter of flame that hit Skarmory. The steel-flying type collapsed and was returned to its Pokeball.

"I told you, I'm the best gym leader ever." the gym leader boasted.

Ash knew immediately that the gym leader wouldn't be easy to beat.

"I'm not ready." Ash thought as he stared at his Charmeleon's Pokeball and left the gym.


	28. Return to the Ninja's Gym

_Author's Note: My brother won't take Firered from me, so I guess I'll be continuing it. _

* * *

Ash let out a sigh as he walked down the road. He was starting to doubt himself again, none of his Pokémon were ready to take on the gym leader's Pokémon. As he continued down the dirt road he spotted the railroad and decided to board the train.

"One ticket to Fuchsia City." the Kanto trainer said before sitting down.

Ash looked out the window at the city's buildings. Skyscrapers stood tall throughout the city. More passengers boarded the train and sat down. Ash adjusted his hat until it covered his eyes, and kicked back to relax. Ash began to wonder how his father and his uncle got through the Kanto region. A voice caught Ash's attention.

"Ash." a familiar man said.

"How did your gym battle go?" the man asked.

"I...was...afraid...to battle the gym leader." Ash muttered.

"Ash, you can't be afraid to fail. I lost twice as much as I won." Giovanni said.

"But the gym leader defeated Gary with only one Pokémon." Ash replied.

"Stephen is mostly talk." Giovanni chuckled.

"You know him?" Ash asked.

"The Viridian Gym leader used to be my rival, he was a lot like your rival, Gary." Giovanni said as he nodded.

Ash's widened as he remembered the conversation with Giovanni in Cerulean City on the phone. Giovanni smirked as he held up a Pokeball.

"Do you know what the Ketchum secret to training is?" Giovanni asked.

"Yes and no." Ash answered.

"We are in sync with our Pokémon, we can beat opponents hundreds of times stronger than us because of it." Giovanni explained.

Ash's frown became his usual grin after his Uncle's talk. His confidence slowly returned.

"I can tell you're going to continue the Ketchum legacy, you look like me when I was a trainer and you have your father's personality." Giovanni said as he patted Ash on the head.

The train screeched to a halt as it arrived in Fuchsia City. Ash stepped out of the train and looked around. A large dojo caught Ash's attention as he wandered about the city. Ash slowly entered the gym.

"What in the world?!" Ash gasped.

The gym leader appeared to be in seven places at once.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" Ash shouted.

The gym leader appeared to motionless. Ash ran forward towards the gym leader and collided with the "invisible" wall.

"I remember why I hate this gym." Ash muttered as he slid down the glass panel.

After running into several walls, Ash managed to make his way over to the gym leader. After catching his breath, he began to speak.

"I challenge you a Pokémon battle." Ash said.

The gym leader continued to sit in her meditation-like pose.

"Didn't you hear me?" Ash asked.

The gym leader remained as silent as a rock. Ash finally got sick of waiting and tapped the gym leader's shoulder. His hand passed through the gym leader as if it was a hologram.

"Duh." Ash groaned.

The trainer from Pallet Town began to run around the gym to see who or what was the real gym leader. Finally, after running into walls and finding decoys he approached, what he thought was, the gym leader.

"I see you have managed to find your way through my maze." the gym leader said.

Ash nodded.

"I believe you are worthy to battle me." the gym leader said as she held a Pokeball.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm back, again! I was listening to Skillet's Awake and Alive during this chapter. In my opinion, it really fits the Ash Coma Theory. Feel free to review. _


	29. Shadows

The female ninja threw a Pokeball and the orb opened revealing a large scorpion Pokémon.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he sent out his electric mouse.

"Drapion use Crunch." Janine said.

The large scorpion rushed Pikachu and took a bite. The mouse tried to flee but its tail was caught in Drapion's jaws.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt and shock yourself." Ash said.

Not only did the electricity shock Drapion, it raised Pikachu's special attack. The poison-dark type released its hold on Pikachu after the powerful shock.

"Drapion use Cross Poison." Janine commanded.

Drapion crossed its arms and made a slashing motion. A glowing purple "x" hit Pikachu sending it backwards.

"That Drapion Cross Poison attack is fast." Ash muttered.

"Drapion, grab Pikachu with your claws." Janine said.

The scorpion swiped at Pikachu and caught it.

"No way! Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said.

The mouse discharged a yellow lightning bolt that electrocuted Drapion. Drapion released Pikachu from its grip and grimaced.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail." Ash commanded.

"Drapion, knock Pikachu over." Janine said.

The ogre scorpion Pokémon tripped Pikachu up with a flick of its tail before it could attack.

"Drapion use Poison Fang!" Janine shouted.

The large scorpion's jaws glowed purple as it was about to bite down on Pikachu.

"Give it an Iron Tail to chew on!" Ash hollered.

Pikachu's tail shimmered as it smacked Drapion's jaws with an Iron Tail attack. Drapion fell down and struggled to get to its feet. The scorpion stumbled around as it got up and collapsed a second time. This time swirls were visible in its eyes as it fainted.

"I have not yet began to fight, my next Pokémon will unleash a barrage of status conditions upon your Pokémon. You will tremble in fear." Janine said as she threw a Pokeball.

A large frog-like Pokémon stared Pikachu down with an icy stare.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said calmly.

The mouse fired a lightning bolt at the frog.

"Toxicroak use Thunderpunch." Janine commanded.

Toxicroak dashed towards Pikachu with an electrified fist. It took Thunderbolt's power and transferred it into Thunderpunch. Toxicroak's attack activated Pikachu's Lightningrod ability once more.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail." Ash said as he smirked.

The trainer from Pallet Town was nearly one hundred percent sure he had Toxicroak on the ropes. Much to Ash's surprise, the frog caught Iron Tail between its hands like a ninja.

"Toxicroak use Giga Impact." Janine said.

The frog was engulfed in a lavender light as it slammed into the wall. Pikachu fainted from the powerful attack and was recalled by Ash.

"You fought well." Ash muttered.

As Ash began to think he chuckled. It was time to unleash his starter Pokémon.

"Charmeleon, I choose you!" he boomed.

The fire type exhaled a small flame into the air.

"Toxicroak use Sucker Punch." Janine said.

The poison frog disappeared and dashed towards Charmeleon in a blur that made it invisible. Its fist glowed a dark purple color as it jabbed Charmeleon in the stomach.

"Charmeleon!" the fire lizard groaned as it fell over.

"Toxicroak use Thunderpunch." Janine said.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower." Ash said.

As Toxicroak charged Charmeleon like an army of troops, it unleashed a powerful breath of fire that engulfed Toxicroak.

"Toxicroak." the frog grunted as it fainted.

"Is that all you got?" Ash asked.

Janine smirked as she sent out her final Pokémon. A grey moth hovered in the air.

"Venomoth use Supersonic." Janine said.

The bug type unleashed a high pitched scream that echoed through the gym. Ash covered his ears because the noise was extremely loud. The windows shattered from the screech and most importantly it confused Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower." Ash said.

The lizard Pokémon began to hit its head on the ground from the confusion.

"Venomoth, end this with Poison Fang." Janine commanded.

The bug type dove down towards Charmeleon at high speed. A bright purple glow was visible in Venomoth's mouth.

"Charmeleon!" Ash shouted.

The lizard shook its head and regained its composure. The lizard spit fire that engulfed Venomoth and knocked it out.

"It's over." Ash muttered as he left out a sigh of relief.


	30. Siph Co

Ash took a deep breath, he had just beaten the Fushsia City gym leader and won his fifth badge. As he walked down the road he smiled, but Janine's words echoed through his mind.

"The road gets much harder from here."

Ash didn't have any confidence about taking on a stronger gym leader after what happened to Gary. If he wasn't careful he could lose just as quickly in the gyms ahead. He left town after healing his Pokémon on the rails. He thought about his long journey and wondered if he would ever have the strength to beat the Kanto Champion. It dawned on Ash, Lance was arrested by the police. Who was the Kanto Champion? The question would have to wait as the train pulled into Saffron City. Something was odd about the town, several of the doors were being guarded by the police.

"What happened here?" Ash asked one of the police officers.

"We cannot give any information until a proper investigation has taken place." the man said.

Ash nodded and walked away. An old man approached him and smiled.

"I see you've discovered our break-in." the old man said.

"Break-in?" Ash asked.

"Saffron City's Silph Co. was broken into last night by three criminals, it appears they've stolen the Silph Scope. Why they would want it remains a mystery." the man said.

"I can get it back." Ash said confidently.

"You will?" the man asked.

"Sure." Ash replied with a grin.

"That's great!" the man shouted as his face beamed.

"What does the scope do?" Ash asked.

"It's supposed to see ghosts, but there aren't ghosts around here." the man said.

Ash began to think as he walked down the road, he'd start searching for the scope after his gym battle. That idea fell apart when he approached the building. Yellow "Do not cross" tape was across the door and prevented entry. Everybody's stores, homes, and even the Pokémon Center was taped up and closed during the investigation.

"So much for my battle." Ash groaned.

* * *

As Ash paced back and forth he began to think.

"Who or why would anyone want a scope that allows you to see ghosts?" Ash muttered.

He couldn't even think of where to look, he was never good at mystery solving. Ash figured he would just head to another town, until he heard something that got his attention.

"Be on the lookout for a man with periwinkle colored hair and a woman with magenta colored hair."

"Jessie and James, of course!" Ash exclaimed as he chuckled.

Now all he had to do is find them, which would be easier said than done. As he looked up at the sunset, he yawned.

"Some rest would be nice, Lavender Town would be a perfect place to spend the night." Ash said as he walked down the road.

"Hey kid, where do you think you're going?!" a tall man next to a motorcycle questioned.

"To Lavender Town." Ash said.

"No snot nosed kid is going to get by the Route Eight Gang." the biker taunted.

"Bring it." Ash said with a smirk as he held Squirtle's Pokeball and threw it.

The turtle stared down the Koffing the biker sent out.

"Squirtle use Water Gun!" Ash hollered.

* * *

_Author's Note: The Team Rocket trio returns with their weirdest robbery yet, Ash is about take on gang of bikers, and is going to try to find the Silph Scope. All that in the next chapter and more. Okay, maybe not more, but you get the point. Swordsman4 out! _


	31. Mission Acomplished

The water type drenched Koffing with a high-powered blast of water and sent it flying backwards.

"No snot nosed brat is going to show us up." the bikers said as they sent out two more Pokémon.

The three Koffing stared Squirtle down with an icy glare.

"Squirtle?!" the turtle exclaimed as it looked around.

The Koffing surrounded Squirtle and fired brown sludge at it. The Sludge Bomb attack weakened Squirtle to the point of exhaustion.

"Pikachu, help out Squirtle!" Ash shouted as he sent out his electric mouse.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said.

Just as the mouse charged up the attack, Squirtle shook its head at Pikachu. The turtle began to glow a bright blue as it threw a sphere of water at the Koffing. It expanded and created a large wave that swept the poison types away.

"You learned Water Pulse!" Ash shouted.

"Koffing use Sludge." the three bikers said.

The poison types fired a blast of filthy goop at Squirtle.

"Pikachu! Squirtle! Thunderbolt and Water Pulse!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu fired a lightning bolt that combined with Squirtle's Water Pulse. A large electrified wave swept over the Koffing and their trainers.

"Good job you two." Ash said to his Pokémon as he returned them to their Pokeballs.

With the bikers out of his way, Ash continued his walk to Lavender Town. The sky was almost dark now, only a faint bit of light illuminated the town as the street lights turned on. Ash entered the Pokémon Center and decided to get a room. As he entered a room he laid on the bed. He was tired from the day's events, but for some peculiar reason he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, for what seemed to be hours, trying to sleep. He finally got up and decided to take a walk around town. As he left the Pokémon Center he took a deep breath of fresh air. The city seemed so calm and he could feel a relaxing breeze blowing through the town. As he wandered about, he saw the silhouettes of people. Ash decided to follow them and he watched them enter the radio tower. As Ash sneaked up a few yards from them, he heard them speak.

"Once we take the elevator to the basement, we'll find those ghosts." a man said.

"Can ya imagine what'll happen when we catch one of those ghostys." a talking cat added.

"It will be the greatest plan ever." a woman said.

Ash recognized the voices immediately, he knew those three anywhere. Jessie, James, and Meowth were up to trouble again. He watched them pull out a telescope-like item and shook his head. Ash followed them underground and watched as they looked through the scope.

"No ghosts are on this floor." James said.

"Team Rocket, I'm going to give you three seconds to hand over the Silph Scope." Ash said.

"Never. You'll have to take it from us!" the trio hollered.

"And dat won't be easy with the help of my new machine." Meowth said as he pressed a red button on a remote.

A large robot with boxing glove hands stepped out from the shadows.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he sent out the electric type.

The robot threw a punch that almost hit Pikachu and put a dent in the floor.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said.

"Pikachuuuuuu!" the mouse shouted as it unleashed a bolt of lightning on the robot.

The electricity flowed through the robot, but it appeared unharmed.

"No Pika-blasts will be frying our new toy." Meowth teased.

"Fine then." Ash said as he returned Pikachu to its Pokeball.

"Get him!" Meowth ordered the robot.

Ash pulled a Pokeball from his pocket and sent out his Charmeleon as he was running.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower." Ash said as they got into the elevator.

The fire lizard spit flames that hit the robot and melted its arms.

"You didn't make it fireproof?" Jessie asked.

"Didn't have time." Meowth replied.

"Charmeleon use Fire Punch." Ash said as he watched the lizard send the robot flying into the trio.

As the robot hit them, James dropped the Silph Scope. The said item rolled over to Ash's feet and he bent over to pick it up.

"You win this time, kid, but we'll be back." James said as he threw a smoke bomb.

The trio disappeared but Ash had the Silph Scope.

"It's time to get this thing back to its owner." Ash muttered as he entered the elevator with Charmeleon following him.

* * *

After a stop a the Pokémon Center to get some rest, Ash started his travel to Saffron City. The sunrise lit the way as Ash sprinted down the road. As Ash entered the city, he wandered over to the old man.

"Here you go." Ash said as he handed him the scope.

"Thank you. Our company thanks you, the police will be out of here by this afternoon." the man said.

After returning the Silph Scope, Ash began to wander about while he waited. He noticed a building that resembled a gym and entered it.

"Hello, young one. What brings you to my dojo?" a man with brown hair and a white robe asked.

"I thought that this was a gym." Ash said.

"At one time this was an unofficial gym, but I turned it into a dojo so trainers can train here." the man said.

"Cool, are you are trainer?" Ash asked.

"You could say that." the man replied.

"Then I challenge you to a battle." Ash said as he held a Pokeball.

"Accept your challenge, I do." the man said.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm surprised how popular this story is it's now at 27,185 views. I want to thank my readers for their support. Please review, Swordsman4 out. _


	32. Legends

The dojo master stared at Ash and smiled.

"Great potential, I sense in you." he said.

Ash chuckled nervously as he reached for a Pokeball.

"Train in one vs one battle, we will." the dojo master said as he threw a Pokeball.

Ash opened his Pokedex and scanned the Pokémon.

"Hitmonchan, the punching Pokémon. The spirit of a pro boxer has infused this Pokémon. It throws punches that are faster than a bullet train."

"Just as I thought! Crobat, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he sent out his flying-poison type.

"Type advantage is not everything, hmm." the dojo master said.

"Crobat use Screech!" Ash commanded as he pointed at Hitmonchan.

The purple bat let out a ear piercing scream that caused the fighting type to get nervous and distracted it.

"Focus, and use Thunderpunch." the dojo master mouthed to Hitmonchan.

The fighting type thrust itself up in the air with its arms and hit Crobat with an electrified fist. Yellow sparks flashed across Crobat's body as it froze up. Hitmonchan hit Crobat with another fist, but this time ice chilled the bat.

"Crobat, get up and use Screech." Ash said.

The poison-flying type let out a loud screech that distracted Hitmonchan as it hit it with its wing.

"Wing Attack, again!" Ash hollered.

As Crobat went in for the finishing blow, the dojo master smirked.

"Predictable you are, learn strategy you must." he said.

As Crobat's wing clipped Hitmonchan's chest, the Pokémon burst and turned into a flash of light. The fighting type popped up behind Crobat and struck it with a powerful Ice Punch. The purple bat crumpled up as it hit the ground and fainted. Ash's jaw dropped at what he had just seen. The power and speed of Hitmonchan was unmatched. Janine wasn't kidding, everything was a heck of a lot tougher.

"Sabrina will be a very difficult gym leader to face. Ready you are not." the dojo master said.

Ash started to worry. If the dojo master was this difficult, what would the next gym leaders be like.

"Train you must." the dojo man said.

Ash began to think, hadn't he already trained? After all he defeated those bikers, and Team Rocket.

"Thanks for your time." Ash said as he left the gym.

The town looked different than when Ash had first arrived in Saffron. The police tape, the squad cars, and most of the cops were gone. Ash walked down the road while thinking about his next strategy. The clouds began to darken and rumbles of thunder echoed in the distance. Rain began to pour down in sheets and it soaked Ash. It was such a cliché, it rained when you're at an emotional low. The trees swayed as the wind picked up, Ash shielded his eyes so he could find his way back into Saffron City. As he finally got to the Pokémon Center he shook his head. If this was anything like his dreams, Misty would be shouting about how he could have caught a cold from being out in that storm. The sound of rain tapping on the windows started to make Ash drowsy, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. The sound of his Pokegear woke him from his sleep. He fumbled the item several times as he pulled it out of his jacket pocket.

"Eight o' clock?!" Ash gasped.

He had been out for longer than he thought. As he got up and was about to head to the gym, the sound of his stomach got his attention.

"Of course, dinner wouldn't be a bad idea." he chuckled.

Even though the Pokémon Center's staff often wasn't the same as his dreams, but the food was free so he wouldn't complain. As he threw as much food as he could on his plate, he turned and spotted his rival.

"Don't worry, Ashy-boy, I'm not here to battle." Gary said.

"I hope so, especially after your loss to the Viridian City gym leader." Ash said.

"That's a fluke. I'll beat him next time." Gary hissed.

Ash chuckled as he shoveled a spoonful of food into his mouth and sat down.

"I've been training, and I'm powerful enough to take on Lance." Gary boasted.

"Shows you what you know." Ash muttered as he called his family's showdown with the former master.

"What do you say?" Gary asked.

"Nothing." Ash replied as he took a bite of pasta.

"You probably aren't even strong enough to beat Green, let alone Steven." Gary said confidently.

"Green?" Ash questioned.

"Legend has it she started her own gym and her daughter is traveling across Kanto." Gary said.

"What are you talking about, Gary?" Ash asked.

Gary shook his head and tapped Ash on the head.

"Hello, Ketchum anybody in there?!" Gary taunted.

"Everybody in Kanto knows about the legend, there were three trainers from Pallet Town. Red, the strongest of the three. Blue, the coolest trainer to ever travel this side of Kanto. And Green, well nobody has seen her since Red left." Gary said.

"Wow." Ash said.

"They also say there were three Johto trainers that were pretty hot stuff, but my dad doesn't know much about them except for the one." Gary added.

"I'm gonna battle them one day!" Ash shouted.

"Yeah right, like a loser like you will ever battle those guys." Gary taunted as he crossed his arms and finished his drink.

"Smell ya later!" Gary exclaimed.

Ash shook his head.

"Uncle Giovanni was right, like father like son." Ash muttered as he finished off his food.

Talent ran through the Ketchum gene pool and if he could train hard enough maybe he could continue the legacy.

"I will continue my family's legacy and I will face the Pokémon Champ..." Ash said as he was interrupted by his Pokegear's loud ringing sound.

He nearly fell over from being startled by the ring. As he got up he answered his phone.

"Hello." Ash said.

"Hi, honey." an all too familiar cheery voice said in a sing-song tone.

"Mom, I was kinda busy with a speech!" Ash groaned.

"Sorry, but I wanted to tell you that Professor Oak has something to tell you once you get back to Viridian City." Delia said.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"You'll have to see when you get there!" Delia sang.

As Ash hung up he chuckled.

"I see my dream's portrayals can be very accurate." Ash mumbled as he cleaned off his plate and headed for the door.

He had a battle to win against Sabrina.

* * *

_Author's Note: Another chapter. Yes, I had the dojo master talk like Yoda. I've been on a Star Wars and Indiana Jones kick after watching the movies and reading my brother's new fanfic. Second, I've been getting complaints about chapter length. I'm usually kind of busy, so I only get the chance to write one or two chapters a day. I'm trying to make these things longer, but it's not easy because of summer league baseball. I have been working on a prequel to this, so I can explain how Archer's hatred for the Ketchum clan began. I hope you enjoy this chapter. This is Swordsman4 signing off, goodnight Seattle. _

_PS: I couldn't resist the Frasier reference._


	33. Weakness

_Author's Note: I'm really on a roll with this story ever after I started playing Pokémon Firered again. _

* * *

Ash jogged through the puddles from the rain as he headed to the gym. It was late at night, but it appeared as if trainers were stopping there anyway. He entered the dome-like stadium and looked around. It was very dark so he couldn't see anything until his "night vision" kicked in. As his eyes got acclimated to the darkness he saw two trainers next to their Pokémon.

"The bond with your Pokémon is strong, but you lack skill. Do not return until you have trained to the point of your full potential." a woman with bluish-black hair, pink eyes, bright glowing green wristbands, cream colored pants, and a magenta tanktop said.

The trainers nodded as they left the dome. Ash gulped and reluctantly stepped forward. Lights activated and lit up the gym. The light blinded Ash temporarily and he covered his eyes. The battlefield was lit in a yellow glow.

"Ash Ketchum, I presume?" the woman questioned.

"Y-Y-Yeah." Ash replied.

It frightened Ash that the gym leader knew his name. The gym leader showed what resembled a smirk.

"I sensed that you'd enter this gym and sensed your potential. There is no need for words, let me show you my power." the gym leader said.

Ash held a Pokeball and smirked. He was going to prove Gary and the dojo master wrong starting here.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Ash hollered.

"Alakazam, show him our power." Sabrina said calmly.

"Bulbasaur, douse it with your Poisonpowder!" Ash shouted.

The grass type released a fine, dark purple powder into the air that covered Alakazam. Sabrina stood emotionless as she watched the psychic type glow purple from poison. Sabrina shook her head.

"Alakazam use Psybeam." she muttered.

The psychic type fired a bright beam of rainbow colored energy at Bulbasaur that engulfed it.

"Bulbasaur use Leech Seed." Ash said.

As the grass starter tossed several seeds at Alakazam, Ash hoped it would be enough for him to execute his battle strategy.

"Alakazam use Future Sight." Sabrina said.

Ash started to sweat, he needed to finish this battle right here.

"Bulbasaur use Solarbeam." Ash said.

The seed Pokémon stood in the bright floodlights of the stadium and glowed a bright yellow color as the attack began to charge.

"Alakazam use Psycho Cut." Sabrina commanded in a calm, and soothing tone.

The psi Pokémon's spoons glowed blue before crescents of energy bombarded Bulbasaur. The grass type collapsed and struggled to get up.

"Come on, Bulbasaur!" Ash screamed with confidence.

As if by luck, Future Sight kicked in and beams of energy struck Bulbasaur. The grass-poison type fainted and crumpled to the ground.

"Pathetic, your bond with your Pokémon is strong, but your battle style is beyond bland. I've never seen trainers with a more predictable battle strategy, you won't be able to overpower the gym leaders ahead and your overconfidence in your abilities blinds you." Sabrina said bluntly.

Ash returned Bulbasaur to its Pokeball and lowered his cap over his eyes. Was he that bad? The young, arrogant trainer from his dreams flashed before his eyes. He would never be able to win a league if he was like that. The gym leaders weren't as easy to beat in the real world. He ran to the Pokémon Center and rented a room. His latest lost taunted him and the words of Sabrina, Gary, and the dojo master haunted him. Ash looked into the mirror at himself. As he stared into the mirror he began to daydream. He saw his dream self.

"I'm going to be the greatest Pokémon trainer in the world!" his dream self proclaimed.

Was it that simple? One's greatest strength is their greatest weakness. His arrogance cost him plenty of matches in the dream world and more recently the real world.

"Your arrogance will never allow you to win the league, you're much to weak." his dream self said.

Even though it was a dream, Brandon's words to Paul rang in his mind.

"Why do you fight? What is your passion?"

His uncle's words echoed in his mind.

"The Ketchum secret." Ash muttered.

"You won't win anything." a voice in his mind said.

"No, I'm not the same trainer. I'm getting stronger everyday." Ash thought.

The dojo master was right, he needed to train. He didn't feel very tired, so he headed outside. As he left the city for the open road he sent out his Pokémon. The sky started to cloud up again as a squall entered the area. The bright flash of lightning sent shivers down his spine as he recalled the incident, but it turned into panic as he saw it hit a Pokémon a few yards away. He could see a injured bug-like Pokémon with green arms in the distance.

"We've got to help it!" Ash hollered as he rushed towards the injured Pokémon.

* * *

_Author's Note: Cliffhanger alert! Take a guess at what you think the Pokémon is and please drop a review. Swordsman4 has left the building!_

_Yeah, another Frasier reference. I'm also on a Frasier phase, in addition to the Pokémon phase. _


	34. Psychic Showdown

Ash ran to the side of a green mantis-like Pokémon with sword arms.

"It's a Scyther." Ash said.

He tried to lift the insect, but it was too heavy. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky with a bright light. Ash closed his eyes and could see the incident as clear as day. Uncle Giovanni's Pikachu was visible in his mind. He sent out his Squirtle to help him push Scyther down the road while the water type froze the ground with ice. A loud bang echoed through the air as another lightning bolt lit up the sky. Rain poured down as Ash pushed Scyther on the ice. Saffron City's street lights were visible as Ash inched his way closer. Lightning struck a large tree and as the tree fell it looked like it was going to squish him. As he pushed Scyther and Squirtle out of the way he closed his eyes. Ash expected the crushing weight of a tree to squish him as he closed his eyes. Much to Ash's surprise, he was still alive. The Scyther had thrown the tree aside before it fell over.

"Thank you." Ash said as he rushed the bug type to the Pokémon Center.

A doctor took the bug type into the emergency care center and Ash sat down in a chair in the lobby. The doctor used tons of terms he couldn't understand, something about fatigue and burns from the lightning. The sight of lightning outside bothered Ash. The memories lightning brought back sent a shiver down his spine. A "What if?" went through his mind. His uncle's Pikachu was quite the powerhouse, and Ash began to think. He was pretty lucky to be alive. Pikachu's Thunderbolt could have ended his life. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. A girl about his age with light brown hair, blue eyes, a green blouse, and crimson skirt sat across the room.

"Would you hand me that magazine?" the girl asked.

Ash handed her the magazine sitting next to him and looked at the clock. The rain continued to pour in buckets and showed no sign of letting up.

"Well, look who's here!" Gary hollered as he entered the Pokémon Center.

Ash rolled his eyes.

"I'm guessing this loser doesn't have a Marsh Badge." Gary taunted as he showed Ash his shiny new badge.

"I might now have one now, but I'm going to win one." Ash said.

"Sure you are, Ashy-boy." Gary said with doubt in his voice.

Ash growled at Gary's usual ego filled remarks. He couldn't wait to prove him wrong. Ash was slightly annoyed by the girl in the lobby. She was laughing at something and he assumed it was him.

"What's so funny?" Ash asked.

"Nothing, I just...thought of an old story." the girl replied.

Ash shook his head and saw the doors to the emergency room open. The doctor stepped out with a healthy Scyther.

"It's a good thing you brought this Pokémon in. It has been excited to see you so it could thank you." the man said.

The bug-flying type nodded at Ash as if it was a tipping its cap. Ash smiled as he watched the bug leave the Pokémon Center. As Scyther left, Ash realized the rain had stopped. Ash headed for Sabrina's gym and smirked. The gym leader nodded as she spotted him.

"I imagine you are ready." Sabrina said.

"Yes." Ash replied as he held a Pokeball.

Sabrina threw a Pokeball and her powerful Alakazam stared at Ash. Ash thought about his roster and smirked. Only one Pokémon could get him through this battle.

"Charmeleon, I choose you!" Ash shouted.

"Alakazam use Psybeam." Sabrina said.

The psychic type held up its spoons and fired a beam of energy at Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower." Ash said.

The fire type countered with a fiery blast from its mouth.

"Alakazam use Future Sight." Sabrina said.

Alakazam's eyes glowed bright blue.

"Charmeleon use Fire Punch." Ash commanded.

The lizard Pokémon hit Alakazam with a powerful fire-charged punch that sent it flying backwards. Lightning formed above Charmeleon and descended.

"Stand next to Alakazam!" Ash shouted.

The fire type stood sprinted towards psi Pokémon and the lightning followed it. Future Sight struck both Pokémon and dealt damage. Sabrina shook her head.

"Your trick surprised me, but it won't be enough." she said.

Alakazam shot a powerful energy beam at Charmeleon, the beam struck and began to weaken the lizard Pokemon. Ash gritted his teeth as he began to think about his last loss to Sabrina.

"Charmeleon, get up!" Ash yelled.

The fire type opened its eyes and glared at Alakazam. Charmeleon got up and rushed Alakazam. Charmeleon threw a punch at the psi Pokémon.

"Fire Punch, once more!" Ash hollered.

Charmeleon hit Alakazam with a powerful Fire Punch and sent it flying into the air. The psi Pokémon hit the floor and tried to get up. As it stood up it wobbled and stumbled.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower." Ash commanded.

The lizard Pokémon unleashed a breath of red hot flames that engulfed Alakazam and knocked it out. Sabrina stood silent in shock of Ash's win.

"I misjudged you, you may be predictable but you make up for it with determination." Sabrina said to break the silence as she handed Ash a Marsh Badge.

Ash took the golden badge and smiled. He was one step closer to the Indigo League.

"We've got a Marsh Badge!" Ash shouted as he showed Charmeleon.

"The road to becoming a Champion only gets harder from here, I wish you good luck." Sabrina said.

Ash nodded as he left the gym and headed down the road. The sun rose above the sky and lit the path before Ash. "Lavender Town, here I come!" Ash hollered as he bolted down the road.

* * *

_Author's Note: I've been addicted to Skillet songs lately. They set the mood for me when writing Firered, especially Awake and Alive, Comatose, and Battle Cry. 992 words this chapter, not counting Author's Notes. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review, Swordsman4 out!_


	35. Just Plane Insane!

Ash looked around as he sprinted down the sun lit road. The sky looked like it was on fire as the sun had begun to rise. The dew soaked grass shimmered as the light reflected off of it. Much to Ash's annoyance the airport in Lavender Town seemed to be closed, no flights were coming or leaving. Getting a flight to Cinnabar Island would be impossible if the airport in Lavender Town was shut down. The trainer from Pallet Town entered the terminal and noticed the police searching the building.

"I'd like a flight to Cinnabar Island." Ash said as he approached the customer service counter.

"I'm sorry, there are no outgoing flights allowed until further notice." the clerk said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"You're going to need a Passport or an active Pokedex for verification, because of the hijacking." the clerk said.

"Hijacking?!" Ash gasped.

"A man transported here to the Lavender Town prison escaped and attempted to hijack a plane so he could escape Kanto's borders." the clerk explained.

Ash nodded as he handed him his Pokedex for ID. The clerk scanned over it and read the bio in its database.

"You're clear, but you'll have to go through the security scanner." the clerk said.

As Ash walked down the terminal he passed through a scanner. A loud buzzing caught his attention.

"You're going to have to send your Pokémon to the Pokémon Center in Cinnabar Island before you board your flight." the clerk said.

Ash began to think. Something told him to keep a Pokémon on him. He placed four Pokeballs on the transporter.

"Okay, you'll be flying first class." the man told Ash.

The trainer nodded and hurried to catch his flight. As he entered the jet, he sat down in his assigned seat. He started to get sleepy as he watched passengers take their seats. Ash dozed off, but was woken up about ten minutes later by shouts. As he opened Ash saw three people standing up.

"Don't try anything, we're taking this jet over!" a voice echoed through the plane.

Ash recognized the two villains immediately. Jessie and James. The third person with them was also very familiar. The carmine hair and the cape was his signature look. Only one person fit the description, but he was supposed to be in jail.

"You're not taking anything!" Ash hollered as he got up.

"Who dare opposes us?!" Jessie hissed.

"It's the twerp." James replied.

"Ash Ketchum, we meet again." Lance said.

"Why would you be helping Team Rocket?" Ash asked.

"Because, what was rightfully was mine was taken from me by the Ketchum family! I was the best there was!" Lance shouted bitterly.

"Key word is was." Ash replied confidently.

"How about we throw him overboard?" James suggested.

"I like dat idea." Meowth said.

"Arbok use Poison Sting." Jessie commanded as she threw a Pokeball.

White needles struck Ash and knocked him unconscious.

* * *

As he woke up he felt handcuffs preventing him from getting up to walk. He looked down to see handcuffs around his ankles so he couldn't move around.

"We're approaching Cinnabar's volcano and the drop off location for our package." James said as he approached.

"Tisk, tisk, tisk. It's a shame you can't escape. Consider this revenge on your family." Lance said with a smirk.

"It's now or never." Meowth said.

"May I do the honors?" James asked.

"Know ya self out." Meowth said.

The Team Rocket trio member chuckled as he grabbed Ash and opened the emergency door.

"This won't hurt...much." James said as he pushed him out the door.

Everything slowed to a snail's pace as Ash plummeted through the air. A soft landing wouldn't be an option as Ash looked down. Nothing but mountain and lava. Ash closed his but immediately remembered he had his Charmeleon on him. He stared at his FREE hands.

"Those guys might be really evil, but they're still idiots." Ash said as he reached for the fire lizard's Pokeball.

Ash grabbed onto to the fire type.

"Flamethrower." Ash commanded as they approached the mountainous terrain.

Ash closed his eyes as the lizard spit flames. Much to Ash's relief, the lizard kept them hovering above the mountain with the fire attack.

"We've gotta stop them." Ash said.

The fire lizard nodded as it began to glow white. A large winged dragon hovered above the mountain's ledge. It broke the handcuffs around Ash's ankles with a swipe of its claws. Ash smirked as he got on his Pokémon.

"We got rid of him." James said.

"Really?" Meowth asked as he looked out the door.

A large breath of fire engulfed the talking Pokémon.

"Yep, he's gone alright." Meowth said sarcastically before he fainted.

"Take care of the plane." James told Lance as he picked up Meowth's remote.

A large flying robot unfolded from a briefcase as he threw it out the door. The trio got into the giant flying mechanical Fearow to counter Ash's Charizard.

"Fire da missile!" Meowth shouted.

Jessie looked at the large panel of button and sweatdropped.

"The red one!" Meowth shouted.

James pressed the burgundy colored button and several missiles were launched from the wings of the Fearow.

"Dodge it." Ash said calmly as he hung onto the dragon.

The fire type twirled to avoid the missiles from Team Rocket.

"Fire our missile, Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

The fire type exhaled and spit flames that engulfed the Fearow-bot.

"Fire the beak!" Meowth ordered.

James pressed a grey button that caused the Fearow-bot's beak to spin. The Fearow's beak was sent flying like a missile.

"Grab the missile." Ash said.

Charizard grabbed the beak missile and held it so it wouldn't go anywhere.

"Fire." Ash said.

Charizard released the missile and it collided with the giant Fearow. The explosion destroyed the robot and sent the trio flying into the sky. A star-like shimmer lit up the sky where the trio had been launched. Things seemed pretty normal again, until Ash remembered the jet. Much to his surprise Lance had left, and the pilot was in control again. As Ash returned Charizard to its Pokeball he wandered back to his seat. A note was set where he was seated on the floor.

Ash picked it up and began to read it.

_"You haven't seen the last of me, I may have lost the battle but I will win the war. I will take back what's mine and I will destroy you all. Team Rocket will rise again. So enjoy your victory while it lasts._

_Sincerely, Lance."_

A chill went down Ash's spine, he couldn't wait to get to Cinnabar. He had quite a few stories to tell his family.

* * *

_Author's Note: Trying to finish up my stories. Official moving day is coming soon, a month or two if things hold up... My new place won't have internet so I'll try to get the library once a month if I can. I hope you enjoy this chapter. _

_I don't always write good stories, but when I do I sign off as Swordsman4._

_Please review, my friends._


	36. The Key to Victory

_Author's Note: I'm back with another update. I'm very surprised no one caught on to my last references to N and the "Most Interesting Man In the World" commercials in the author's note. Oh well, on with the story._

* * *

"Cinnabar, the tropical islands." the sign read.

If this place was anything like it was in his dreams he'd have puzzles to solve. And this time Misty wouldn't be solving them for him.

"This place would make an excellent vacation spot." Ash muttered.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, annoying voice that could be recognized just about anywhere.

"This is the perfect place for a elite trainer like me to train." the voice boasted.

Ash turned to see his egotistical rival and growled.

"Hey, who let a loser on this island?!" Gary asked.

"Last time I checked I have more wins in our rivalry than you, so I wouldn't talk." Ash said with a smirk.

"Even a blind Pachirisu finds a nut once and a while." Gary replied.

Ash shook his head as he turned to leave. After picking up his Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, he spotted the gym and walked over to it. As he turned the knob he discovered it was locked.

"What in the world?!" Ash gasped.

The door was locked, and there was no other way in. There was a building next to the gym. maybe there would be a way in. As he opened the door to the other building, Ash noticed a computer that was turned over. Several cracks were along the sides and screen.

"Strange." Ash muttered.

The lights flickered on and off several times as Ash walked towards the stairs. The silence in the building gave Ash the creeps. Something wasn't right.

He entered a room and was confused. It appeared to be empty other than the lone statue in the room. A silver lever resided on the statue and Ash slowly approached it. As he pulled it down a loud thud echoed through the room, a secret door opened to reveal another flight of stairs.

"Check it out!" Ash hollered only to realize he was talking to himself.

He treaded carefully down the cement steps into the darkness. As he turned on his flashlight he heard a strange sound. The light from upstairs disappeared as the door shut. Ash bolted back up the stairs and tried to pry the door open.

"Let me out!" Ash shouted as he tried to move the door.

He pulled out his Pokegear and opened his contacts. He tried to call his family but the calls were rejected.

"No signal." he cursed.

The flashlight flickered on and off. Suddenly, the light went out as the batteries died. Ash gritted his teeth and chuckled nervously. As he reached the basement level he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Something else was in the basement. A large yellow-green orb of energy was fired at Ash.

"Charizard, send it back with Dragon Tail!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

The fire type spun and hit the ball of lightning with its tail. Charizard struck the orb and it exploded as it hit the Pokémon that send. Electrical sparks engulfed the red and blue Pokémon. The lights turned on and revealed a Porygon.

"Woah, it's a Porygon!" Ash gasped.

The Porygon fired a large red beam of energy that buzzed by Charizard's wing. Ash sidestepped the beam and watched as it exploded after it hit the wall.

"This thing is really tough." Ash said.

Ash reached for a Pokeball and held it in his hand.

"Charizard use Flamethrower." Ash said.

The fire type unleashed a breath of flames that engulfed Porygon.

"Go Pokeball!" Ash shouted as he threw the red and white orb.

The sphere trapped Porygon inside and began to wobble. A loud click indicated that Ash had caught Porygon.

"Awesome, I caught a Porygon!" Ash shouted as he preformed his signature pose.

Ash looked down to see a key setting on a pillar. Ash took the key and heard a loud thud. The floor began to crumble and a stairway was revealed. He took the stairs and found another room full of statues. As he entered the room, he spotted two other trainers in the room.

"Gary, how did you get down here?" Ash asked.

"I took the stairs." Gary replied.

"There's no way you took the stairs." Ash said.

"There's more than one way down here, Ashy-boy." Gary said.

"Where's the key?" the girl he seen at the Pokémon Center lobby in Saffron asked.

"I'm trying to find it." Gary replied.

"You two will never find it." Ash said.

"I'm the kin of a Pokémon professor, I'll find it." Gary boasted.

"You keep telling yourself that." Ash said as he saw the stairs and left the basement.

He'd let the other trainers figure out someone else already found the key themselves. Now that he was above ground he left the building and returned to the Cinnabar gym. As Ash unlocked and opened the door he was shocked by what he saw.

* * *

The place was huge. Large walls similar to that of the other building stood blocking what Ash supposed was the gym leader's room. A touchscreen was imbedded on the wall. Ash approached it and glanced over it.

"Trivia questions, I should have figured." Ash groaned.

As Ash tapped the screen a question popped up onto the screen.

"Does Caterpie evolve into Butterfree?" Ash read out loud.

Ash grinned as he pressed the "yes" button and it opened the wall only to reveal another room with a wall. This was going to be a piece of cake.

"There are nine certified Pokémon League badges." Ash muttered.

"No, everybody knows Gary got the other two from the Pokemart." Ash said recalling his dreams.

The next wall opened to reveal another room.

"Poliwag evolves three times." the screen read.

"Yes, sure, whatever." Ash said as he tapped the "yes" button.

The floor opened up from under him and he fell into a chute that dumped him into the water surrounded the island.

"That would have been nice to know earlier!" Ash shouted as he swam over to the shore.

He returned to the gym and its trivia computers.

"Let's try that again." Ash muttered as he marched over to the computer.

"No." Ash said as he tapped the "no" on the touchscreen.

The wall rumbled as the gears shifted inside the wall. The next room was opened to Ash and he entered the room.

"Are electric type moves effective against a ground type." Ash read.

"No." Ash said as he selected the "no" feature.

The next wall opened yet again revealing another room.

"Each Pokémon has its own character even if it is the same species." the screen read.

Ash selected the "yes" and watched the wall open to reveal one last room.

"Tombstoner is a powerful rock type move." Ash said.

Ash quickly pressed the "no" feature and it opened the door to the gym leader.

"I see you have solved my riddles. You must be a worthy foe." Blaine said.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" Ash declared.

"I accept your challenge." Blaine replied with a smirk.

* * *

_Author's Note: Another chapter completed, I should have this story finished in about a month or less if I keep up this pace. Feel free to comment/review. I'm Swordsman4, and I'm listening. _

_Yep, another Frasier reference. Why I keep thinking of that series, I have no idea. _


	37. A Heated Battle!

Ash pulled a Pokeball out from his jacket pocket and wound up to throw it.

"You didn't think we'd battle here, did you?" the gym leader asked.

"What?" Ash asked.

Blaine swiped a card through a scanner and the gym's battlefield began to shake. The battlefield rose up from the building and went through the now open roof. The bright blue sky was now visible from the battlefield and the volcano was only a few hundred yards away. Ash looked down at the city and gulped. He then recalled his battle with Blaine in the dream world and chuckled.

"Prepare to be defeated, you won't prevail after this trial by fire!" Blaine hollered as he threw a Pokeball.

"Arcanine use Fire Blast." Blaine commanded.

"Squirtle use Water Pulse!" Ash shouted.

Arcanine launched a blast of flames in the shape of a letter. As the fiery attack inched closer to Squirtle, the water type hurled an orb of water. As the attacks clashed, steam covered the battlefield in a thick sheet.

"Squirtle use Water Gun and sweep through the steam!" Ash commanded.

The tiny turtle Pokémon spit a stream of icy water through the steam and twirled like a lawn sprinkler.

"Arcanine use Flamethrower." Blaine said confidently.

A breath of flame cut through the steam and engulfed Squirtle.

"Arcanine use ExtremeSpeed!" Blaine ordered with a bellow.

The fire type rushed Squirtle and slammed into it. The water type was sent flying across the battlefield and tumbled over the edge of the battlefield.

"Squirtle, return!" Ash shouted as he returned the turtle to its Pokeball.

He let out a sigh of relief as the red beam engulfed Squirtle and sucked Squirtle into the orb.

"Porygon, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he threw a Pokeball.

The trainer from Pallet Town hoped that Porygon could battle long enough to give Squirtle a chance to recover.

"Arcanine use Dragon Pulse!" Blaine ordered.

The fire type unleashed a aqua colored sphere of energy that hit Porygon. The virtual Pokémon tumbled across the ground, but shook off the attack.

"Porygon use Lock-on." Ash said.

The normal type's eyes glowed a bright red and a bright red aura surrounded it.

"Arcanine use Flamethrower!" Blaine ordered.

The fire type spit fire that hit Porygon and pushed it backwards.

"Porygon use Zap Cannon." Ash said as he began to sweat.

"Arcanine use ExtemeSpeed to dodge it!" Blaine barked.

Arcanine sprinted around the battlefield to try to escape the attack. The orb of electricity followed Arcanine around until it grew tired. The orb exploded as it hit the fire type, bright yellow sparks engulfed Arcanine and the legendary Pokémon couldn't move.

"Porygon use Tackle!" Ash commanded with excitement in his voice.

The virtual Pokémon hit Arcanine and watched as it fainted.

"You might have defeated my Arcanine, but my fiery rage is just beginning." Blaine said as he swapped out Arcanine for a fox-like Pokémon.

"Flareon use Lava Plume." Blaine said calmly.

The battlefield began to rumble until a geyser of lava bubbled up from underground. The lava burnt Porygon as it touched it.

"Porygon use Zap Cannon." Ash said.

The normal type charged up a bright yellow sphere of lightning and launched it at Flareon. Due to Lock-on wearing off, the orb only clipped Flareon's head.

"Flareon use Superpower." Blaine said.

Flareon was surrounded with a bright aura as it hit the ground and launched a boulder by hitting it with its tail. Porygon was crushed by the weight of the rock and fainted.

"Porygon, return. You fought well." Ash muttered.

"What are you going to do now, kid?" Blaine asked.

Ash reached for Squirtle's Pokeball in his pocket and smirked.

"Are you ready?!" Ash asked.

The water type nodded as it was sent out.

"Flareon use Quick Attack." Blaine commanded.

The fire fox Pokémon tackled Squirtle before Ash could even blink. Flareon's speed made nearly invisible as it circled Squirtle. Ash began to sweat as he got nervous.

"Squirtle use Water Pulse!" Ash shouted.

Squirtle threw an orb of water that unleashed a large wave that swept Flareon away. As the wave subsided it revealed an unconscious Flareon.

"Flareon, return. You've made a big mistake kid, my final Pokémon will demolish you." Blaine said as if it was fact.

A large Pokémon with cannon arms glared at Squirtle and smirked.

"Thunderpunch!" Blaine shouted.

The large fire type smacked Squirtle with an electrified fist and watched as it fainted.

"How did you...?!" Ash gasped.

"My Magmortar is superior to all Pokémon, not even Steven Oak's Blastoise could defeat my Magmortar." Blaine boasted.

Ash smirked as he held a Pokeball. He liked a challenge and wasn't going to back down now. Ash wound up and threw the Pokeball like a major league pitcher. A flash of light revealed a large Charizard staring Magmortar down.

"Challenging a fire type gym leader is gutsy, but I'll see it that you lose." Blaine said.

Magmortar held its arms together as it unleashed fire from the cannons on its arms. Flames surrounded Charizard and pushed it backwards.

"Charizard use Dragon Tail." Ash said as he felt the heat from Magmortar's Flamethrower attack.

The large orange dragon took to the skies and flew straight towards Magmortar. Charizard stopped and carried its forward momentum into its attack. Magmortar stood its ground and slid across the dirt as it was struck by Charizard's tail.

"Rock Tomb!" Blaine ordered.

Dark purple orbs exploded as they hit the ground and stone shrapnel pelted Charizard as Magmortar fired a barrage of orbs into the ground.

"Charizard use Slash!" Ash commanded.

The fire-flying type took a quick glance at Magmortar and flew towards it again. Its claws glowed a bright white as it took several swipes at Magmortar.

"Magmortar use Thunderpunch." Blaine commanded.

"Charizard, counter with Dragon Tail!" Ash shouted.

Charizard's tail glowed a bright blue as it collided with Magmortar's fist. The bright yellow sparks from Thunderpunch flashed so bright as it hit Dragon Tail that Ash and Blaine had to shield their eyes.

"Magmortar use Fire Blast!" Blaine hollered.

The fire type shot a letter of flames that hit Charizard. The dragon collapsed and shut its eyes.

"I know you've got a little left in you, Charizard! Let's show him what you've got!" Ash shouted as he hoped this Charizard was as powerful as the one from his dreams.

Charizard opened its eyes and smirked. The flame on its tail burned with a bright flame as a red aura surrounded it.

"Charizard, let's end this!" Ash yelled.

The dragon grabbed Magmortar and took to the skies. It flew in a repeated loop before throwing Magmortar to the ground.

"We did it, Charizard!" Ash hollered as he started to celebrate.

Blaine chuckled at Ash's celebration.

"You didn't think that would be enough to beat my Magmortar, did you?" Blaine asked.

Much to Ash's chagrin, the fire type brushed itself off and aimed its arms at Charizard.

"Hyper Beam!" Blaine ordered.

The dark red beam of energy fired from Magmortar's arms began to inch closer to Charizard as things seemed to move in slow motion.

"Dodge it!" Ash shouted.

Ash could only watch and cross his fingers as Charizard took to the air in slow motion. The beam missed Charizard by an inch and the dragon fired a blast of fire at Magmortar. Overheat engulfed Magmortar and weakened it enough for Charizard to get in another attack.

"Charizard use Dragon Tail!" Ash hollered.

"Magmortar use Hyper Beam!" Blaine commanded.

Much to Ash's surprise, Magmortar fired another powerful Hyper Beam at Charizard. The fire-flying type barrel rolled to avoid the attack and struck Magmortar with Dragon Tail. The blast Pokémon was sent flying through the air and it landed in the far away volcano. Blaine stood in shock of what had just happened and struggled to speak.

"I am very surprised by your abilities. Only two other trainers have as strong a bond with their Pokémon." Blaine said.

"Who?" Ash asked eagerly.

"Giovanni "Red" Ketchum and David "Gold" Ketchum." Blaine said.

Ash's eyes widened at the mention of those names, to be even mentioned in the same sentence was an honor.

"You have certainly earned this." Blaine said as he handed him a Volcano Badge.

Ash put the shiny red badge in his badge case and smiled.

The gym battlefield returned to its normal height and Ash left the gym. He had one last stop, Viridian City and its gym. Ash finally felt ready to battle there. As he was about to head to the airport a voice interrupted him.

* * *

_Author's Note: Haven't ended on a cliffhanger lately, so I think I'll toss things up a bit. As for Arcanine, I know he's not a "legendary" Pokémon that's just what the Pokedex calls the said Pokémon. As for Giovanni being Red, I was kinda sick of the same plot of Giovanni being the main villain all the time in reboots. If Ash's adventures were coma induced how much more of a twist would it be that Giovanni wasn't really evil. That's just my take, I hope you enjoy. Please review, Swordsman4 out! _


	38. Return of the Executive!

Ash stared at his badge case, seven down one to go. He caught a glimpse of the sunset. He drifted into his thoughts and chuckled. Wouldn't Brock and Misty be proud. He traveled solo and conquered the Kanto gyms. The trainer from Pallet Town headed to the Pokémon Center and walked to the cafeteria. Ash wanted to get some food before his trip to Viridian City, as he grabbed a tray he was stopped by a trainer.

"Let me guess, you found the key." the girl from the Saffron City Pokémon Center said.

Ash smirked and nodded.

"And Gary's still in the basement of that building looking for it." the girl added.

Ash snickered as he nodded, he figured it was payback for the arrogant comments. Ash slapped some food on his plate and walked down the buffet.

"Where are you from?" the girl asked.

"Pallet Town." Ash replied.

The girl's eyes widened as if she was surprised.

"I'm Leaf." the girl said.

"Ash Ketchum." the trainer from Pallet Town said as took a seat at a table.

"How do you know Gary?" Ash asked with curiosity.

"I met him when he showed up in Lavender Town, he says his goal is to challenge and beat the three Kanto trainers of legend." Leaf said.

"That's not going to happen, no way he beats Red." Ash said in full knowledge Red was his uncle.

"Well that's a given, no one has even seen him in decades." Leaf replied with a sigh.

Ash smirked at that statement. Once again he had the inside edge on his rival.

"To be fair, I doubt anyone would recognize him now." Ash said.

"True." Leaf said.

"So, are these supposed legends true? And where can you find the trio?" Ash asked.

He knew where "Red" and "Blue" were located, but if what Gary said was true, there was a third.

"Everyone knows that Blue took over the gym in Viridian, my grandfather and I don't know where Green is, and Red hasn't been seen for years. Rumor has it some trainer named Gold battled him and got him to return. Red still remains in hiding to this day." Leaf said.

Ash nodded as he finished off his pizza. He tipped his cap as he left. If anyone was going to beat the trio of legend it was going to be him. After all, he knew where two of the three legendary trainers were. He took a room at the Pokémon Center and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

As he woke up he saw a strange room, it was a room of mirrors. Ash looked at a person that seemed like himself.

"I Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, challenge you to a battle!" the person shouted.

The real Ash nodded as he sent out Charizard to face Pikachu.

"Flamethrower." Ash said calmly as he crossed his arms.

"Thunderbolt!" the clone commanded.

As the two attacks collided, Ash felt a thud and woke up.

"What was that all about?!" Ash grumbled as he got up off the floor.

Certainly that would be the last time Ash requested ate triple pepperoni pizza before bed. The sun shone through the window, another day was here.

* * *

Ash took the first flight out of Cinnabar Island and fell asleep. The plane's landing jolted him awake from his nap. Viridian City looked bigger than in his dreams and was much more busy than when he stopped here. The place was huge. Cars were everywhere and people were swarming around the city as they were on shopping sprees. Ash tried to slip through the crowds. It seemed strange, the crowd was running FROM something or someone. Rubble was scattered on the ground. What seemed like a prison was destroyed. A Dragonite with a person beside it slowly trotted out from the dust and flames.

"Lance." Ash muttered.

The Dragon Master grinned as a man with teal hair stood next to him. When it dawned on Ash, he cringed. Lance had just freed the most dangerous criminal in Kanto.

"Well, if it isn't for the puny pipsqueak from Pallet Town." the man with teal hair hissed.

"Archer, we meet again." Ash said as he tried to hide his fear that was building.

He took a few steps back as the Team Rocket leader marched towards him. The sirens of police cars echoed in the distance.

"We don't have time to play." Lance said.

"You're lucky, kid." Archer said as he turned and got on Dragonite's back.

The two villains escaped and disappeared as they flew off. Two trainers arrived on the scene as the police arrived.

"What happened here?!" the man with spiky brown hair asked.

"Someone freed Archer." the police chief replied.

"Ash, what are you doing here?!" Giovanni asked.

"I just arrived here at the wrong time." Ash said.

"Are you okay?" Giovanni asked.

"Yeah, I'm glad they didn't get a second more than they did." Ash said.

"They?" Giovanni asked.

"Lance, he's back." Ash said.

The former champion's eyes widened.

"Of all the times for my brother to be off on one of his 'adventures'." Giovanni muttered under his breath as he scowled.

Giovanni began to think.

"We should go after them!" Ash shouted.

"They're long gone by now, kid." Steven Oak said.

"We should head back to the gym." Giovanni said as the group walked down the road.

* * *

The gym was huge, it had everything. It was almost like a mansion.

"What are you doing here, Uncle Giovanni?" Ash asked.

"I was here to visit my old friend, but seeing that Archer has been freed things have changed. I told Charles to put him in a higher security prison." Giovanni said as he growled.

"There's nothing we can do now." Steven said.

"If David wasn't off on his stupid 'me time' stuff we could track them down." Giovanni cursed as he slammed his fist on the table.

Ash stared at Giovanni in shock.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Ash. I'm just angry." Giovanni said.

Ash was used to seeing Giovanni in worse fits of rage. Like the time he defeated him in Unova, but then again that was the dream world.

"What can we do?" Steven asked.

"Nothing." Giovanni replied.

"Nothing, what do you mean nothing?!" Steven demanded.

"Goodshow wanted the Kanto legal system to deal with Archer and told me to stay off the case. Charles decided he would take a month long time vacation just last week. His orders were not to contact him unless it's an emergency." Giovanni said.

"This is an emergency." Steven replied.

"The only emergency to Goodshow is his poll numbers dropping." Giovanni deadpanned.

"True." Steven said.

Ash stared at the trainers in confusion.

"Why don't we go after them anyways, after all Goodshow is on vacation. He'll never know." Ash suggested.

"Two versus the entire Team Rocket organization, not going to end well." Giovanni said.

"I thought you used to do that." Ash said.

"I was a lot younger." Giovanni replied as he chuckled.

Ash began to pace back and forth. He was starting to tired of just doing nothing and sick of the silence.

"Steven, do you have your Pokegear on you?" Giovanni asked.

"Yeah, why?" the gym leader asked.

"I just solved our problem, thanks to Ash here." Giovanni replied.

Ash pulled a Pokeball out of his pocket and grinned.

"What are we waiting for then?" Ash asked.

"Your father." Giovanni said with a smirk as he dialed David's number.

* * *

_Author's Note: I needed some buildup before Ash's final gym battle, and I figured another showdown with Lance and Archer would be perfect. Drop a review. I'll be back!_


	39. Escape From Seafoam Island

Ash stared at the Pokeball in his hand as he waited for his uncle to finish his conversation on the phone.

"Let's roll." Giovanni said.

"Woah, who appointed you leader?" Steven asked.

Giovanni glared at him with a "Don't Start" look on his face.

"How are we supposed to track down Team Rocket when they left an hour ago?" Ash asked.

Giovanni smirked as he held a Pokeball.

"They need time to gather a plan and an army." Giovanni said.

He pointed to building on the Seafoam Islands.

"Rumor has it, Lance has been hiding out on the island after his plane hijacking attempts." Giovanni added.

"So we have to beat them at their own facility before they start another war?" Steven asked.

"Basically. My brother will meet us there." Giovanni said.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Ash shouted.

"For this boat." Giovanni replied as he held a tour guide of the Seafoam Islands.

* * *

The salty scent of the sea wafted through the air as the team stood on deck and looked over the railing.

"Kinda reminds me of when we traveled across the Kanto region and when I would beat you to become the Pokémon Champion." Steven said.

"I don't remember that, but I do remember you whining when I took the title of Kanto Champion from you." Giovanni replied with a chuckle.

"You guys were both champions?!" Ash gasped.

"Yeah, why do you think I'm unbeatable as a gym leader?" Steven asked.

"Not completely unbeatable." Giovanni corrected.

The sea reminded Ash of his dream world friend, Misty. The sea was plain depressing to Ash ever since the realization that he was dreaming about his first journey. The sun's reflection off the waves of the sea made it look like lava. The boat kept inching its way closer to the Seafoam Islands. The boat stopped at the harbor of the island and the passengers started to get off.

"You think we'll get away with this?" Steven asked.

"We'll tell Charles that we decided to take a vacation. He can't prove that we weren't relaxing." Giovanni replied.

Ash followed the trainers and gulped. Something seemed wrong as he walked on the sand. It felt warm on most of the beach but a small section felt ice-cold.

"Hey, a seashell!" Ash said with excitement as he tried to pick up the shell.

The ground began to rumble and shake.

"What did you do, kid?!" Steven asked.

A large staircase was uncovered as it rose from under the sand. Giovanni took a few steps into the darkness and Ash followed suit. A large underground facility was revealed at the bottom of the staircase. Ash was amazed at all the computers and laboratory equipment. The Dragon Master turned to face the trainers and grinned.

"Well, look what the Skitty dragged in." he said.

"Let's cut to the chase. I battle you, kick your butt like I did in the league, and you go to jail." Steven said.

Giovanni rolled his eyes at his rival's remark.

"Dragonite use Hyper Beam!" Lance shouted.

The dragon Pokémon stepped out from the shadows and stood by his side. It charged up a dark red ball of energy in its mouth and discharged a powerful beam from it.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Giovanni said calmly as he threw a Pokeball.

The electric mouse fired a bolt of lightning that matched the power of Dragonite's Hyper Beam. A large flash lit up the base.

"You're pretty strong, but I am the best there was." Lance boasted.

"Was is the word. You were the best." Giovanni said as he held up three fingers.

Pikachu looked back and nodded. The electric mouse fired another lightning bolt at Dragonite.

Ash stared at the computer panels and looked around the room. Something was fishy, where was Archer? His question was answered as the Team Rocket leader stepped out of the shadows.

"Hey, who is this loser?!" Steven asked as he pointed .

Ash rolled his eyes as he reached for Charizard's Pokeball.

"Your question will not be answered today. You will all pay." Archer said as he snapped his fingers.

The Team Rocket trio stepped into the room in a giant mechanical Persian.

"Where's David when you need him?" Giovanni muttered.

"You mean this twerp?" Jessie asked as she opened the cockpit to the machine.

The Johto Champion was tied up with Ariados webbing and thrown out of the machine.

"I have all the cards this time." Archer said with a smirk as he held a silver detonator.

"You're using this plan again?" Ash asked.

"No. I'm leaving this base because I have an Alakazam with me. This Alakazam powered teleport pad will warp me to another location before this base explodes." Archer said as he nodded.

James pressed a button on the panel of their robot. A thread of yarn tied up the rest of the gang. Archer activated the teleporter and the detonator. The robot broke through the ceiling as it took off.

"Make sure they don't escape." Archer told Lance as he warped to a new location.

The dragon master nodded as he caught a Pokeball he was tossed.

"I'm looking forward to this." Lance said as he smirked.

* * *

The red glow of the warning lights flashed and lit up the room. Ash noticed that the yarn around was loose and watched Lance pace around the room.

"One size fits all? Better get your money back." Ash muttered as he read the tag on the side.

The trainer chuckled as he squirmed from the threads and held a Pokeball.

"How did you?" Giovanni and David asked.

"No time for questions." Ash replied.

"Wait, why did you drag Ash into this in the first place?!" David asked Giovanni.

"We were doing this kind of stuff when we were that age, and when you need to fight a Team Rocket executive you can't be picky." Giovanni replied.

Each of the champions whipped out a Pokeball, and were interrupted by the roar of the speakers in the base.

"Two minutes until detonation."

"How did you escape?!" Lance demanded.

"You losers did a poor job at tying us up." Steven said.

"Get Ash out of here! I can take Lance on myself!" David shouted.

Giovanni nodded as he turned to leave.

"We can't have him take on Lance on his own." Ash said.

"He's strong enough to beat that joker." Steven replied as he pointed at Lance.

As they dashed up the stairs, the exit was cut off.

"Hello, twerps." James greeted the trio.

"Pikachu use Thunder!" Giovanni ordered.

The electric mouse leaped off his shoulder and zapped the Meowth droid.

"Fire da torpedoes." Meowth said as he slammed his paw down on a button.

The machine's claws morphed into missiles and inched closer to the Kanto trio.

"Charizard! Pikachu! Thunderbolt and Flamethrower!" Ash hollered as he threw two Pokeballs.

The blasts of lightning and fire destroyed the missiles before they hit.

"Blastoise use Hydro Cannon!" Steven shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

A large orb of water exploded as it struck the robot and swept it out to sea.

"Let's get out of this death trap." Steven said as he swapped out his Blastoise for a Aerodactyl.

The trio took off on their flying Pokémon into the sky. A large explosion rocked the Team Rocket base and lit up the dark skies.

"Don't worry, I'm sure your father escaped." Giovanni said as he tried to hide the worried look on his face.

He wasn't quite sure that even David escaped the blast and it would bother him as they returned to the gym.

* * *

_Author's Note: Cliffhanger. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm trying to finish Firered before I move. Please review, Swordsman4 out! _


	40. Lance!

_Author's Note: I will be moving soon, but if I get time in the future I will write a sequel to Firered. I plan on it being slightly darker. It will be post-Kanto journey. I'm not going to give any spoilers other than that._

* * *

Ash replayed the explosion over and over in his mind. The flames rose up from the base and a bright flash of light lit up the darkness. The war against the Rockets had perhaps claimed its first casualty. The gym seemed dark as the trio remained silent. Archer was still lurking about Kanto, and his location would be unknown as long as they sat here. Ash watched his uncle as he stood at a video phone, the conversation with Charles Goodshow didn't seem to be going to well from what the young trainer could tell.

"I'm going for a walk." Ash muttered as he picked up his Pokeballs off the table.

The darkness was only lit up from the moonlight in the sky. Ash lowered his cap as he thought about his battles with Team Rocket in his dreams. Why couldn't they be that simple in real life? The thing that bothered him most off all was that it was entirely possible he'd never meet his father. It seemed that much more of a reality when his uncle wouldn't say anything about it. Ash could only see a hurt look in his eyes. As he walked down the road, he stared at the jail where this all started. A shadow of a person could be seen in the street light, the man was very familiar. He held a weapon of some sort and had a belt with several Pokeballs on it. Ash recognized that carmine colored hair anywhere.

"Those fools will wake up to a society taken over by Team Rocket, years of planning and failure has finally paid off." the man said.

Ash gritted his teeth as he stepped forward.

"Ahh, the runt of the litter thinks he can stop me." Lance said as he turned to face Ash.

"You're going to pay!" Ash hissed.

"Buzz off small fry, I'm not going to waste my time on you." Lance said coldly.

"Where's my father?!" Ash demanded.

"In his final resting place, Seafoam Island." Lance replied with a twisted grin.

Ash clenched his fists and reached for his Bulbasaur's Pokeball.

"Your father got what he deserved for his meddling with Team Rocket." Lance boasted.

Ash stopped and changed hands. He unclipped his Squirtle's Pokeball and gritted his teeth.

"Dragonite, vaporize this pest." Lance said nonchalantly as he tossed a Pokeball.

"Hyper Beam!" Lance ordered.

Dragonite charged up a dark red beam of energy and fired it at Squirtle. The beam cut through the pavement like a hot knife through butter, and slammed into Squirtle.

"Thunder." Lance commanded as he rolled his eyes.

"Squirtle use Ice Beam." Ash commanded.

The tiny turtle spun out of the lightning bolt's path and countered with a beam of cold air that clipped Dragonite's wings. Ice crystals formed on Dragonite and Ash smirked.

"Dragonite, let's get out of here. We don't need to waste time with him." Lance said.

The dragon Pokémon melted the shards on its body by heating itself up with Heat Wave. Lance hopped up on Dragonite's back and flew up into the air.

"Not so fast, my friend!" Ash shouted in a Lee Corso-like fashion as he swapped out Squirtle for Charizard and Crobat.

"Crobat use Supersonic!" Ash commanded.

The purple bat sped up and shrieked at Dragonite.

"Shake it off." Lance said.

The dragon shook its head and regained its composure. Ash was in pursuit of the dragon master on his Charizard.

"Charizard use Overheat!" Ash shouted.

A bright orange flame clipped Dragonite's wings and caused the dragon to skid across the roof of a building. Lance tumbled across the roof and clutched his side. Ash landed Charizard on the flat roof and glared at Lance.

"We both know you don't have the guts to finish me off." Lance said.

Ash gritted his teeth and nodded at Charizard. The fire-flying type charged up a powerful Flamethrower and spit flames. Lance closed his eyes and expected fire to engulf him. An Aerodactyl blocked the flames with Protect.

"This loser is not worth it, Ash." Steven said as he stood next to him.

"Why shouldn't I finish him off and have Charizard vaporize him?!" Ash demanded.

"Because that makes you no different from him." Giovanni replied as he returned his Charizard to its Pokeball.

Ash gritted his teeth in rage and clenched his fists.

"Charizard...return." Ash muttered as he held up a Pokeball.

* * *

Ash smirked as the police took the unstable dragon master away.

"Team Rocket's anger will never die child, we will be back. The Ketchum family will regret the day they interfered with me and my organization." Lance hissed.

"It looks like your not the wimpy trainer I thought you were. After that showing you've earned a gym battle." Steven said with a chuckle.

Ash nodded his head and grinned. Finally, something less depressing to think about.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Ash said.

"Agreed." Steven replied as he watched Ash head to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

The young trainer entered the Pokémon Center and handed his Pokémon to the clerk. Ash also handed him some money as he noticed the fee rates.

"Hey, it's Ketch-dumb!" Gary hollered.

"Gary?" Ash asked as he turned to see his rival standing next to him.

"Hello Ashy-boy, anybody in there?!" Gary shouted as he tapped his head like a door.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Think Ashy-boy, think. I'm here to beat my father and get a badge." Gary replied.

"I'm battling him first." Ash taunted.

"Fine, I can't wait to watch you lose." Gary snickered.

"Right." Ash said sarcastically as he shook his head.

He'd deal with Gary later, sleep was much more important.

* * *

_Author's Note: Two for one Tuesday. Consider this making up for no update Monday. I'm going to have a quote for every chapter starting here. Quote of the day...He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword._

_-Jesus Christ _

_Found this surfing the web. Thought it really fit this chapter. Please review, Swordsman4 out!_


	41. The Rumble in the Concrete Jungle!

_It's not over until it's over.-Yogi Berra _

* * *

Ash yawned as he got up and looked out the window. He took a quick shower as he prepared for his gym battle. He threw on his usual outfit, and smiled. Steven may have had defeated Gary, but then again Ash wasn't Gary. It would be a different battle, and Ash wasn't going to lose. The sun lit up the sky and the city. The buildings were clearly visible as Ash left the Pokémon Center with his Pokémon. Ash opened the doors of the Viridian Gym and smirked.

"I'm surprised you didn't chicken out." Steven teased as he held a Pokeball.

"What's the rules?" Ash asked ignoring Steven's usual banter.

"Two Pokémon a piece. I'm going easy on you, more or less." Steven said.

Ash nodded as he held a Pokeball, and grinned.

"Tyranitar, show this rookie why I'm the best gym leader in Kanto!" Steven shouted.

"Gees, I wonder where Gary got his ego?" Ash muttered sarcastically.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he threw a Pokeball.

Steven snickered as he saw Ash's choice.

"Just when I thought you weren't a total airhead, kid. No way a Bulbasaur beats my Tyranitar." Steven said as he rolled his eyes.

"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf!" Ash commanded.

The grass reptile launched sharp leaves at Tyranitar that pelted it.

"Tyranitar use Stone Edge." Steven said.

The rock-dark type surrounded itself in razor-sharp shards of stone and hurled it at Bulbasaur. The stone shards splintered as they pelted Bulbasaur, and weakened it.

"Bulbasaur use Giga Drain." Ash ordered.

The grass type began to siphon away energy from Tyranitar with a bright green beam.

"Saur!" the grass type shouted as it was completely recharged.

"Tyranitar use Flamethrower!" Steven hollered.

The armor Pokémon spit fire that engulfed Bulbasaur. The bulb Pokémon shook itself off but Ash knew better.

"I have to figure out a way to finish Tyranitar off." Ash mumbled as he looked around the room.

"Tyranitar use Hyper Beam." Steven said calmly.

"Solarbeam!" Ash hollered.

Both Pokémon began to charge their attacks. The bright green light from Solarbeam collided with a powerful Hyper Beam and exploded. The gym was lit up from the bright explosion and Steven began to smirk.

"Hyper Beam." he said calmly.

"There's no way it can use that attack again!" Ash gasped.

The rock-dark type unleashed another powerful beam of energy that hit Bulbasaur. The grass-poison type slid across the gym's floor.

"You stand corrected." Steven said.

"Bulb." it grunted as it stood up once more.

"Impressive, no Pokémon has ever withstood consecutive Hyper Beam blasts from my Tyranitar." Steven said.

"We're just gettin' started!" Ash hollered.

"Giga Drain!" Ash commanded.

Bulbasaur fired a bright green beam that began to drain Tyranitar's energy and restore its own. The bulb Pokémon managed to restore half of its energy before Tyranitar was ready to attack again.

"Flamethrower!" Steven yelled.

Tyranitar opened its mouth and breathed scorching flames.

"Bulbasaur use Giga Drain!" Ash ordered.

The grass type managed to recovered a little bit of energy it lost from the super effective attack. Bulbasaur winced as it glowed red from a burn.

"Tyranitar use Flamethrower!" Steven hollered.

"Dodge it and counter with Razor Leaf!" Ash shouted.

Tyranitar spit red-hot flames at Bulbasaur, and watched as the grass starter was engulfed in flames. Several leaves struck Tyranitar as the flames subsided. Both Tyranitar and Bulbasaur were left on the ground unconscious.

"Woah!" Steven gasped as he saw his powerful Tyranitar on the ground.

He returned the armor Pokémon to its Pokeball and smirked.

"That's far enough, Blastoise let's end this!" the gym leader shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

Ash glanced at the large turtle with steel cannons on its back. He winced as he reached for Porygon's Pokeball. Ash shook his head. Porygon's Zap Cannon would only get so far and if Blastoise was as good as advertised it would be beaten in several attacks. Ash chuckled as he thought about his dreams.

"Brock and Misty would insist on me using strategy, not impulse. And Misty would be questioning my decision on choosing Porygon." Ash muttered.

He thought it over for a minute and nodded. Speed over power was much better in this situation. He reached for a Pokeball and shouted those all too familiar words.

"Pikachu, I choose you!"

* * *

The yellow mouse looked back at Ash and squeaked. Ash began to have doubts about his choice, this was not his dreams. Pikachu was an unproven Pokémon and wasn't the burner he had in his dreams. In hindsight, Crobat or saving Bulbasaur for later would have been a better matchup.

"Blastoise use Hydro Pump." Steven said calmly as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

The water type fired twin blasts of water at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash shouted.

The mouse rolled to side of the first blast of water and leaped over the second blast.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Whirlpool." Steven said.

As Pikachu unleashed a lightning bolt, Blastoise surrounded itself in a swirling funnel of blue water. The electricity hardly even touched Blastoise.

"You thought an electric type could beat my Blastoise? Considering the my rival's first two Pokémon were Charizard and Pikachu, I've developed some counter techniques for those Pokémon." Steven boasted.

Ash knew immediately why he was told that the gyms would get harder. Steven was no pushover and Ash would have really have to work for this badge.

"Blastoise use Rapid Spin and turn that Whirlpool into a cyclone of destruction!" Steven ordered.

The turtle began to spin from inside its shell and the tornado of water inched towards Pikachu.

"What is this?!" Ash gasped.

"There's a reason I don't like dirt floors in my gym, stainless steel is good enough for me." Steven said.

Pikachu was trapped in the swirling cyclone of water as it spun around.

"Blastoise use Focus Punch." Steven said calmly.

Blastoise's right fist glowed a bright sky blue color as it locked onto Pikachu. It timed its punch right and sent Pikachu flying from the whirlpool.

"Pika-pi!" the mouse gasped as it tumbled across the floor.

The electric mouse began to get tired from the battle. Ash groaned, he had come this far just to lose to Steven. He really thought that his team was ready for this battle. The mouse Pokémon sensed Ash's frustration and felt bad. The mouse discharged sparks from its cheeks and glared at Blastoise. It wasn't going to let its master down, not today, not after all that effort. Pikachu got up on its feet and looked back at Ash and nodded.

"Agility, and circle Blastoise." Ash said with in determined tone.

The mouse sprinted at full speed as it ran around Blastoise. The shellfish Pokémon couldn't keep up with the mouse or lock onto it. Shoot, it couldn't even get its timing down so it could fire a blast of water.

"What are you waiting for?" Steven asked with a puzzled look on his face.

The water type shot two streams of water that missed Pikachu. The blasts bounced off the floor and hit the ceiling. The water-soaked the turtle Pokémon as it hit it.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash commanded.

Ash was surprised to see the mouse launch a ball of energy at Blastoise that shocked it.

"Electro Ball?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" the mouse replied as it nodded.

At that moment the battlers knew that the tide had turned.

"Blastoise use Earthquake!" Steven shouted.

"Quick Attack!" Ash hollered.

Pikachu tackled Blastoise before it could attack first, but it wasn't enough to stop the attack. A shockwave ripped through the ground and knocked Pikachu backwards.

"Blastoise it's almost over, finish this!" Steven hollered.

The water type shot a ball of water from its mouth that inched towards Pikachu. The electric mouse opened its eyes and spotted the orb of water. Pikachu hit it back with a powerful Iron Tail. The orb exploded as it struck Blastoise and knocked it on its shell.

"Blastoise!" Steven gasped.

"End this with Electro Ball and Thunderbolt combined!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt enhanced Electro Ball that knocked Blastoise out. Steven could barely speak after he watched his starter collapse.

"How the heck did I lose to you? Only one other trainer was able to beat me as a gym leader." Steven said.

"Who was that?" Ash asked.

"D...David Ketchum." Steven replied.

Ash was floored again by another comparison to his father. Steven handed Ash a plant-shaped badge and chuckled.

"Luck can often be a factor to Pokémon Battles." Steven said.

"You're saying my win was luck?!" Ash asked.

"Oh, no. I'd never say something like that." Steven replied.

Ash shook his head, no wonder why Uncle Giovanni wasn't here. He could probably only take a little bit of Steven's company at a time without going insane. He put the badge in his badge case and grinned.

"Smell ya later!" Steven hollered as he watched the trainer leave.

Ash smiled as he looked at his badge case. The Elite Four and the Indigo League was the only thing that stood in his path to Kanto Champion.

* * *

_Author's Note: Anybody see the recent X and Y anime preview? Ash is solo again from what I can tell, it looks like the vicious cycle is starting again. I'm guessing Iris leaves with Clair, and Cilan heads back to the gym. I wonder how Team Flare will show up. Yeah, that's the next evil organization's name. They look like a bunch of losers. (Ha ha, reference intended.) Please review, it's really appreciated. Swordsman4 signing off._


	42. Family History

_My favorite thing about history is that it's a story that's ending is unknown._

* * *

Ash ran down the road towards Route One and tripped over a log.

"Wow, you can't even walk right, can you?" Gary asked.

Ash growled at his rival and glared at him. As Ash got up and brushed himself off, he shook his head.

"Traveling solo I see." Ash said.

"Yeah, I hate deadweight." Gary replied.

"How many badges do you have?" Ash asked.

"For your information I have ten badges." Gary boasted.

"You didn't get them from a Pokemart did you?" Ash asked.

"Hey, Ketch-dumb! You realize there are more gyms than just the eight most trainers visit, right?" Gary questioned.

"Like the Pokemart gym?" Ash asked.

"Oh, forget it!" Gary huffed as he stormed off.

Ash chuckled as he wandered further down the road. The town was so familiar now that he knew the truth about his world. He approached a small but cozy house and knocked on the door. A person, that Ash recognized as his mother, opened the door. Ash could tell that his mother had heard the news about his father. The house was anything but clean and Delia's eyes were red.

"Ash...your father..." Delia forced out.

"I know." Ash replied as he tried to contain his emotions.

Ash sat down on the couch and sighed.

"What was my father like?" he asked with curiosity.

"He was a lot like you, the adventurous spirit, a little stubborn, and he always wanted to do the right thing." Delia said.

Ash smiled a little bit, he figured out why his uncle thought his mannerisms were amusing.

"How did you meet?" Ash asked.

"It all started when David said he was going to be just like his older brother day and become a powerful trainer. He left Pallet Town and arrived in New Bark Town with his family who moved there. What he didn't know was that his brother was champion. Giovanni had left years before and after becoming champion he heard about the death of his father, and fled to Mt. Silver. David was motivated to find him and bring him home. So he traveled around Johto, and occasionally he ran into his next door neighbor who had feelings for him." Delia said.

"And who was that?" Ash asked.

Delia forced a smile and Ash nodded.

"Did dad ever achieve his goals?" Ash asked.

Delia nodded.

"He said that his rivals didn't make it easy though." Delia added.

"Rivals?" Ash questioned.

"He had a rival named Paul, but he was better known as Silver. And there was his friendly rival that everyone referred to as Lyra."

Ash flinched as he began to think. Where had he heard those names? Paul had been his rival. Wait, that would mean...Paul was based on his father's rival?

"Lyra?" Ash questioned.

"It was a mistake in a pronunciation by your father when we first met, it stuck with EVERYBODY afterwards." Delia explained.

"Why did you leave me alone all those years?" Ash asked.

"We wanted you to have a good future, with Team Rocket lurking about we thought you'd never have that opportunity if war broke out." Delia explained.

The puzzle fit, revealed the entire picture, and his memory was fully restored. His dreams were influenced by his uncle's stories.

"Your father wanted to give you this once you were old enough and I think you are ready." Delia said as she handed him a yellow and black baseball cap.

"This was your father's when he was your age." Delia added.

Ash nodded as he swapped his old cap for the new one. The trainer from Pallet grinned. He had one more stop, the Indigo Plateau.

"Goodbye." Ash said as he left his hometown once more.

* * *

As Ash boarded another plane, he thought of all the trials he had to get where he was. For some odd reason he felt different than he usually did when he was approaching a league. He didn't feel like he was going to win, but he didn't feel like he was going to lose. He felt humbled just to have made it this far, and be mentioned in the same sentence as his father and his uncle. He felt that no matter what happened he had won. He overcame adversity and grew as a person. Every win and loss taught him a valuable piece of advice, not just in battles but in life. As he exited the plane, Ash looked up at the darkening sky. The sun was beginning to set. Ash slowly wandered his way towards the tunnel of Victory Road. A booth blocked the path, and a guard stood in it.

"ID and verification please." the guard said.

Ash handed him his badge case and his Pokedex. The guard pressed a button and lowered a gate. Ash took his Pokedex and badge case as he entered the tunnel. The darkness was lit up by the torches on the walls. It was like a cave out of a movie.

"This cave isn't going to slow me down!" Ash hollered as he rushed further into the darkness.

* * *

_Author's Note: Shorter chapter today because of time restraints, but I may get a chance to post another chapter today. I have decided I will make a sequel. The updates on it will be fewer and further between but I will work on one. It will not feature Ash as the main character, but it will feature a canon character. I'll leave the guessing up to the readers. I know the bios aren't exactly "Canon" for the Ketchum family, but again I wanted something original. A entirely new plot that could tie the games into the mix. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review. Swordsman4 out!_


	43. All or Nothing-Part One

_You play to win the game!- Herm Edwards_

* * *

The underground tunnel had hundreds of paths in it that led to Mew knows where. Trainers battled throughout the cave. Ash chuckled as he thought about his father and his uncle. To think they had traveled here just like he was now. Ash jogged up several stone steps and spotted a ladder. As he climbed up it, he entered a completely different room. This place was going to be an absolute nightmare to get out of. The darkness seemed to be subsiding as Ash took a right turn.

"I just walked in a circle, didn't I?" Ash muttered as he spotted the torches on the wall.

It hit the trainer like a load of bricks, as he looked at Crobat's Pokeball. He sent the bat Pokémon out and smirked.

"Lead us out of here!" Ash hollered and heard his voice echo.

The purple bat Pokémon dashed forward and screeched several times. Ash sprinted down the tunnel and hoped he could keep up. Crobat dove down into a dark tube into another room. Ash looked down and gulped. Was he really going to go down there? Of course he was! The trainer from Pallet Town leaped into the darkness and sighed. This was hopeless they were headed in circles. Or were they? The room seemed slightly different. Crobat flew down another hallway. A faint glimpse of light could be seen hundreds of yards away. As if by luck he was...in another room of this Arceus forsaken cave. It just had more torches. Ash groaned as he looked around.

"Crobat, return." Ash muttered as he returned Crobat to its orb.

Ash started to get angry. Just when he thought he was out of the cave. Ash kicked the stone wall of the tunnel and suddenly the walls started to shake. A stone crumbled and revealed another passage. Ash entered the next room and saw the real exit. As he exited the tunnel, he was stopped by two other trainers. Ash recognized them immediately.

"Gary?" he questioned.

"The Slowpoke of the group finally shows up, eh?" Gary asked.

"How did you get here so fast?" Ash asked.

"Only the old school trainers take the Victory Road, all the cool trainers like me fly here." Gary replied with a smirk.

"And considering I just beat the rest of these losers I guess I get to battle the champion because you're late." Gary added as he pointed at all the other trainers in the room.

"I don't think things work like that." Ash said.

Ash returned Crobat to its Pokeball and grinned as he entered another room. Ash looked back to see his rival follow him into the next room. A woman with red hair and red eyes glared at the trainers.

"I am Lorelei of the Elite Four, which of you have come to battle me?" the woman asked.

"Me, Ashy-boy is just here to watch." Gary said.

"No way, I'm battling the Elite Four!" Ash replied.

"Silence, I believe this can be settled in a battle. Seeing you two were strong enough to even make it here it will be a full battle. The winner will battle the Elite Four, the loser will have to start at the beginning of their journey again." Lorelei said.

"I'm game if you are, Ashy-boy." Gary said.

Ash gulped and gritted his teeth. He didn't really want to go all the way back to Pallet Town and start over. He would have to win this.

"Fine, I accept those terms." Ash said.

"Electivire, I choose you!" Gary hollered and smirked.

Ash stared to think over his options.

"Porygon, I choose you!" Ash shouted.

"Electivire use Brick Break." Gary commanded.

"Porygon use Hyper Beam!" Ash ordered.

As the electric type was about to hit Porygon with a karate chop, Porygon unleashed a bright red beam of energy that engulfed Electivire.

"Electivire use Thunderpunch." Gary said.

The thunderbolt Pokémon threw an electrified punch that shocked Porygon. The normal type skidded across the floor.

"Porygon use Conversion-2!" Ash shouted.

A bright purple aura surrounded Electivire and a beam of energy struck Porygon that changed its type.

"Electivire use Brick Break." Gary commanded.

Electivire karate chopped Porygon over the head, but it wasn't as powerful because of its new type.

"What the heck happened?" Gary questioned.

"I thought you'd know that, Gary, Conversion-2 changes a Pokémon's type." Ash replied.

"Electivire use Earthquake!" Gary ordered.

The thunderbolt Pokémon stomped the ground and sent out tremors that knocked Porygon down. Ash winced because he knew that was super effective.

"Porygon use Conversion-2, then use Tri Attack." Ash commanded.

Porygon changed its type and fired three beams of energy that slammed into Electivire.

"Electivire, no!" Gary hollered as it fainted.

"One down." Ash said to taunt his rival.

"Electivire, return. Arcanine, go!" Gary shouted.

"Porygon use Lock On." Ash said.

The technology Pokémon's eyes glowed dark red as it stared at Arcanine.

"Arcanine use Extremespeed." Gary said.

The fire type dashed towards Porygon and tackled it. The normal type crashed into the wall and fainted.

"Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash hollered.

"Arcanine use Heat Wave!" Gary commanded.

The legendary Pokémon breath hot air from its mouth that hit Squirtle.

"Squirtle use Water Gun!" Ash shouted.

"Dodge it and use Bite." Gary said.

The turtle spit a stream of water at Arcanine, but the fire type leaped to the side and started to run straight for Squirtle. Ash smirked as he watched Arcanine inch closer.

"Squirtle use Water Pulse!" Ash shouted.

Squirtle fired a ball of water that swept over its target. A large wave of water rushed over the now retreating Arcanine and swept it away. Ash grinned as he spotted the now unconscious Arcanine. Gary gritted his teeth and swapped out Arcanine for a Fearow.

"Fearow use Heat Wave." Gary said.

"Cool it off with Water Gun!" Ash shouted.

Squirtle spit water at the breath of hot air and created a blanket of steam.

"Fearow use Drill Peck." Gary said.

The flying type rushed into the steam and corkscrewed as it hit Squirtle. Ash saw the turtle on its back as the steam cleared.

"How did Fearow see Squirtle in all that steam?!" Ash gasped.

"Keen Eye, Ashy-boy Fearow can see through and sandstorm, blizzard, or any weather related incident." Gary replied.

"Squirtle use Ice Beam." Ash commanded.

"Dodge it, Fearow and use Hyper Beam." Gary ordered.

Fearow dove through the air to avoid Ice Beam, and fired a bright beam of red energy at Squirtle. The water type still couldn't get up because it was on its back.

"Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash said as he hoped it would hit Fearow.

"Fearow use Giga Impact." Gary commanded.

Squirtle's attack missed Fearow completely as it slammed into it. Squirtle's eyes had dark swirls in them that indicated it had fainted. As Ash returned Squirtle to its Pokeball he began to sweat. He did not want to go home and he knew it was time to step up his game.

"Crobat, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he threw a Pokeball.

"An air battle, huh? Oh well, I'll beat you either way." Gary boasted.

"We'll see about that, Crobat use Air Cutter!" Ash shouted.

"Fearow use Heat Have!" Gary ordered.

* * *

_Author's Note: It's the semi-rare weekend update. The rival battle begins, quick cue the rival battle theme. _


	44. All or Nothing-Part Two

_I think confrontation is healthy, because it clears the air very quickly.-Bill Parcells_

* * *

Ash watched the attacks collide in a display of power. It reminded him of all those contests he watched in his dream world.

"Crobat use Wing Attack." Ash said.

Fearow was caught off guard by the speed of Crobat and was clipped by its wing. Fearow spun out of control and plummeted towards the ground. It recovered and flew up Behind Crobat.

"Fearow use Heat Wave!" Gary hollered.

Fearow unleashed a wave of heated air that hit Crobat. The bat shook off the attack and winced. Crobat was exhausted from being having to fly around and time its attacks right. And the damage from Heat Wave didn't help much either.

"We have to finish this up." Ash muttered.

He began to look around the room, Gary's arrogant grin gave Ash an idea.

"Hey Gary, what's taking you so long to order an attack?!" Ash asked.

"I'm just planning my attack, Ashy-boy." Gary replied.

"Sounds like an excuse to me." Ash taunted.

"Oh, we'll show you! Fearow use Drill Peck!" Gary shouted.

The fierce bird Pokemon corkscrewed as its beak glowed a bright blue color. Ash smirked as Fearow kept its pace up and flew straight into his trap.

"Crobat use Supersonic." Ash said confidently.

The bat screeched as it dodged Fearow's attack, the sound hurt Fearow's ears and gave Ash another chance to attack.

"Crobat use Sludge Bomb!" Ash commanded.

Crobat hurled filthy sludge at Fearow and watched it plummet to the ground like a downed plane. Gary gritted his teeth as he realized he had been tricked into making a bad decision.

"You might have figured out mind tricks Ashy-boy, but I know how to battle." Gary boasted.

Ash rolled his eyes as he watched Gary reach for another Pokeball.

"Metang, show this loser why we're the best!" Gary shouted.

Ash gulped because he knew Crobat would be a very bad matchup against Metang. Crobat was too tired to fight, but he didn't have many Pokémon that matched up well with Metang.

"Crobat use Sludge Bomb." Ash said.

The flying-poison type bombarded Metang with sludge, but it had no effect.

"This amateur doesn't remember type advantages." Gary scoffed.

"Yes, I do." Ash replied.

"No, you don't. Let me remind you about them. Metang use Thunderpunch." Gary commanded.

Metang floated up in the air and hit Crobat with a powerful Thunderpunch. Crobat fell to the ground and collapsed. Swirls were visible in its eyes.

"Better watch out, I'm catchin' up." Gary said.

Ash was down to three Pokémon. Bulbasaur was no match for Metang, Charizard would be a good matchup but he needed his starter if he had to face the Elite Four after this battle. Pikachu was his only option. Ash gulped as he held the electric mouse's Pokeball. Would Pikachu be able to defeat Metang? There was only one way to find out.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash shouted in a confident tone.

"Pika-pi?!" the mouse gasped as it looked around.

The mouse sweatdropped as it spotted Metang and hid behind Ash.

"Pika-pi!" it shouted.

"You can take him, Pikachu." Ash said.

"I see your Pikachu is just as cowardly as you." Gary sneered.

Pikachu glared at Gary and leaped out onto the battlefield.

"Alright, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

"Pikachuuuuuuu!" the electric mouse shouted as it zapped the metal-psychic type.

Metang shook off the attack and stared at Pikachu as it waited for a command.

"Metang use Meteor Mash!" Gary commanded.

Metang clobbered Pikachu with a powerful punch that sent it flying across the room.

"Your strategy is very bland, Ashy-boy." Gary teased.

Strategy...that was what he needed. He took a quick glance at the dirt floor and nodded. That's how Metang would lose.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail." Ash said.

The electric mouse dashed towards Metang and spun to strike it with its tail.

"Metang use Meteor Mash." Gary ordered.

Ash began to wait for the right time to order his command.

"Dod..." Ash said.

By the time Ash spoke, Metang had already hit Pikachu. He needed to try again.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail." Ash said calmly.

"This again? Oh well, Metang use Meteor Mash." Gary said.

"Dodge it!" Ash hollered.

Pikachu rolled out-of-the-way before Metang's fist hit it. Metang punched the ground and couldn't get its fist out of the dirt.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail once more!" Ash shouted.

The electric mouse struck Metang over the head with a powerful Iron Tail. The steel type collapsed and swirls were seen in its eyes.

"It's over, Gary, just give up." Ash said.

"Not so fast, I got one last Pokémon." Gary replied.

A Wartortle stood on the battlefield and glared at Pikachu.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said.

"Wartortle use Hydro Pump." Gary said.

The two attacks collided at midfield but neither Pokémon could overpower the other.

"Wartortle use Blizzard." Gary commanded.

The turtle Pokémon froze Pikachu solid with a blast of snow. As the iceberg shattered, it revealed a fainted Pikachu.

"Did I mention Wartortle is nice and rested?" Gary asked.

Ash rolled his eyes as he sent out his next Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf." Ash commanded.

The poison-grass type hurled sharp leaves at Wartortle.

"Wartortle use Rapid Spin." Gary said.

The water type hid in its shell and spun towards Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur use Solar..." Ash said before being interrupted by a giant swirling vortex of water.

"No Pikachu to bail you out this time, Ashy-boy." Gary taunted as the turtle sucked Bulbasaur into the whirlpool.

"Bulbasaur use Giga Drain." Ash said.

"Drain this! Blizzard!" Gary hollered.

Before Bulbasaur could use its attack, Wartortle froze Bulbasaur with a powerful breath of ice. Ash winced as the ice block shattered and revealed a knocked out Bulbasaur.

"At least it can't get any worse." Ash muttered.

Suddenly, Wartortle began to glow a bright white color and a large Blastoise stood in its place. Ash groaned and huffed as he stared at his last Pokémon containing in a red and white sphere. The orange flame painted on it glimmered in the lights on the ceiling.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash shouted.

"Blastoise use Hydro Pump." Gary said.

Ash watched in horror as Charizard was soaked with a powerful Hydro Pump, if he didn't come up with a plan he would be going home.

"Charizard use Dragon Tail." Ash commanded.

The fire starter swung its tail at Blastoise and knocked it backwards.

"Blastoise use Blizzard." Gary ordered.

The shellfish Pokémon launched snow from the cannons on its back that pelted Charizard.

"Charizard use Flamethrower!" Ash hollered.

The dragon-like Pokémon let out a breath of hot flames that engulfed Blastoise.

"Blastoise use Rapid Spin and Hydro Pump!" Gary demanded.

The attacks created a large tornado of water that slammed into Charizard. The fire-flying type fell to the ground and struggled to get up.

"Blastoise, run Charizard over with Skull Bash!" Gary commanded.

Blastoise was surrounded in a bright white light as it rushed Charizard head on. Charizard caught a glimpse of Blastoise and roared as it got up and blocked the attack.

"Seismic Toss!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs.

Charizard grabbed Blastoise and flew up into the air. Gary's eyes widened as he watched Charizard preform several loops and throw the shellfish Pokémon to the ground. A large crater was left in the ground and sure enough, one unconscious Blastoise was there.

"What?!" Gary gasped.

"That decides it." Lorelei said.

"How could I have lost?" Gary asked himself.

"You trained your Pokémon without a bond, you remained distant from them and treated them as mere weapons. I could tell." Lorelei replied.

Gary shook his head as he returned Blastoise to its Pokeball.

"Ash Ketchum, you have earned a battle with the Elite Four." Lorelei said.

Ash nodded and smiled. He had never made it this far even in his dreams. A door opened up revealing another exit.

"Come back, when you believe you are ready." Lorelei said.

Ash nodded as he exited the tunnel. He was at the Indigo Plateau, the city was wonderful. He headed to the Pokémon Center and as he entered the hospital he was greeted by a familiar face.

* * *

"Ash, I knew you'd make it here." Giovanni said.

"I never thought I would." Ash replied.

Giovanni chuckled and shook his head.

"You'd be surprised what you can do." he replied.

Ash handed his Pokémon in for a checkup and sat in the lobby.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Work, work, work. Just because I'm not a Pokémon trainer doesn't mean there isn't work." Giovanni said.

Ash smirked and chuckled at the statement. Who would have thought the biggest enemy of his dreams would be one of his greatest influences in the real world?

"Ash, there's something I'd like you to help me with before you battle the Elite Four." Giovanni said.

"Sure." Ash said with a grin.

* * *

_Author's Note: Double Trouble today, two chapters. One last detour before the Elite Four. What it is will be revealed in the next chapter. Another hint on the sequel, think new league. Until next time, Ladies and Gentlemen. Swordsman4 out!_


	45. Enter The Elite Four!

Giovanni handed Ash a silver card and chuckled.

"What is this for?" Ash asked.

"There's a few items in Cerulean Cave you might want to claim." Giovanni said cryptically as he turned to leave.

Ash nodded and took off for the airport.

* * *

Cerulean City, the breeze from the sea felt cool and had a salty scent to it, if that was even possible. Ash approached the cave but noticed there wasn't really a way to get over to it. Water surrounded the cave and the entrance.

"Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he threw a Pokeball.

"Use Ice Beam to create a bridge for me to walk on." Ash said.

Squirtle fired a beam of ice to freeze the water. Ash treaded carefully over the frozen water and entered the cave. A metallic door blocked the entrance and caused Ash to get confused.

"Why would Uncle Giovanni send me to a cave I can't get into?" Ash muttered.

He reached into his pocket to get out his Pokegear and felt the card. Ash pulled the card out and glanced over the door. A small slot to the right of the door intrigued Ash. He slid the card into it and the door began to open. Ash entered the darkness and wandered into the cave. Zubat hung onto the ceiling and a dim light could be seen further in the cave. He wasn't sure what he was looking for because Giovanni hadn't specified. As he approached the light he could see the silhouette of a person. A small hole in the cave's ceiling shed some light on the person. Ash flinched and nearly fell over as the skeleton fell forward. A shiver went down Ash's spine as he looked at the bones, and spotted a chest. He opened the large wooden chest and turned on his flashlight to read what looked like a letter inside.

**"Dear Ash, ****if you're reading this I have failed and the base has self destruct. I am writing this with whatever time I left. I'm sorry for not being there for you in life. I swore I'd try to be as good a father to you as mine was. However, I failed. I wrote this to try to make it up to you. I sensed great potential in you the first time we met, I just wish I could be there to see it when you beat the Elite Four. Your mother and I are extremely proud. Love, your father David."**

Ash stared at the letter and began to sob. Why did things have to end the way they did? Ash looked in the chest and pulled out a belt with six Pokeballs. He forced a smile. Ash recalled the list of reasons he wanted to beat the Kanto League and this just added one more reason to wanted to win. Ash nodded because he didn't feel ready to face the Elite Four, he knew he was ready.

* * *

Ash returned to the Indigo Plateau with the letter he found in his pocket, he entered the room he faced Gary in and grinned.

"I see we have a challenger. Ahh, Ash Ketchum. We meet again. I presume you're ready to take on the Elite Four." Lorelei said.

Ash nodded and reached for a Pokeball. Lorelei sent out a large Lapras and shook her head.

"Your toughest challenge begins here." Lorelei said.

Ash began to think about which Pokémon to use. He wanted to use his father's secret weapon to honor him, but decided against it. Not now at least.

"Porygon, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he threw a Pokeball.

"Interesting choice, but it won't overcome my Lapras' power." Lorelei said coldly.

"We'll see about that, Porygon use Zap Cannon!" Ash shouted.

"Lapras use Dragon Pulse." Lorelei commanded.

The two energy blasts collided and burst creating a bright flash of blinding light.

* * *

_Author's Note: I have a short chapter today because the battles are going to be long and intense. Because I'm EXTREMELY busy because of packing to move. And lastly, I wrote two chapters on Saturday. I'm trying to get this finished up before I move, so I hope it'll be done by the next two weeks. Swordsman4 out! _


	46. Chill Out!

The battlers shielded their eyes from the bright flash of light and took a minute to revaluate the situation.

"Lapras, freeze them solid with Sheer Cold." Lorelei commanded.

"Porygon use Tri Attack and overpower Lapras!" Ash shouted as he pointed at the transport Pokémon.

The beam of ice collided with lightning, fire, and another beam of ice. Porygon's attack began to push Sheer Cold back.

"Zap Cannon!" Ash hollered.

Porygon infused a orb of electricity into Tri Attack and watched Sheer Cold dissipate. Lapras shook off the Zap Cannon infused beam, but sparks zapped it.

"Lapras use Hydro Pump." Lorelei said in a voice as cold as an Ice Beam.

Sparks flashed on Lapras' body and Ash noticed the Ice type couldn't move.

"Porygon use Hyper Beam!" Ash hollered.

Porygon fired off a bright red beam of energy that slammed into Lapras. The transport Pokémon slid backwards. Lorelei shook her head and smirked.

"It will take more than that to defeat us." she said.

Lapras began to charge up a ball of ice. Lapras hurled Ice Shard at Porygon and Ash began to sweat. Porygon was hit with the hard ball of ice.

"Porygon use Zap Cannon!" Ash yelled.

"Lapras use Giga Impact." Lorelei said nonchalantly.

Lapras took the attack as it rushed Porygon. The transport Pokémon slammed into Porygon with all of its weight and the sparks effected both Pokémon. Neither Pokémon could get up from the electricity that flowed through their bodies.

"Come on, you've got this Porygon!" Ash shouted.

"Lapras use Hydro Pump." Lorelei said calmly.

The Ice-Water type shook off the damage and spit a stream of high pressure water at Porygon. Slowly but surely, Porygon was being weakened by the blast of water. Porygon began to a odd shade of blue as it was hit by Hydro Pump. The attack was beginning to restore its power.

"What in the world?!" Ash gasped as the blue aura stopped as the attack stopped.

"Ahh, Porygon's Trace ability. That will makes things a bit harder, but nothing I can't overcome." Lorelei said.

"Porygon use Hyper Beam!" Ash ordered.

Porygon began to charge a ball of red energy. A large beam was discharged from the ball and hit Lapras.

"Lapras rest up." Lorelei said.

The aquatic dinosaur-like Pokémon drifted off to sleep to regain its strength.

"Porygon use Lock On." Ash said.

Porygon's eyes glowed bright red as it glared at Lapras.

"Lorelei, give up!" Ash insisted.

"I have yet begun to fight." Lorelei replied.

"Sleep Talk." she said.

Lapras fired a stream of high pressure water and helped Porygon recover.

"As long as Porygon has Water Absorb you aren't going to do anything but help my Porygon out." Ash boasted.

Ash nearly shrieked when he saw the transport Pokémon wake up. It started to charge up Sheer Cold.

"Porygon use Hyper Beam!" Ash exclaimed.

Porygon unleashed the bright red beam of energy and it clashed with Lapras' Sheer Cold. A small smokescreen blocked the view of the opponent's Pokémon. The small patch of fog lifted and Ash smirked. Porygon's eyes were glowing a bright red color.

"Zap Cannon!" Ash hollered.

The ball of electricity exploded as it hit Lapras, and the shock from the attack caused Lapras to faint. The match was over and Ash stood victorious.

"Impossible, beaten by a mere child?! You have much potential. The next challenge awaits you." Lorelei said.

Ash nodded as he entered the next room. He was slightly annoyed by what he saw.

"Multiple tunnels, I should have guessed." Ash muttered.

* * *

The darkness creeped Ash out. It wasn't just that it was dark in that room, there was nothing but silence. He walked down the tunnel furthest to the right and entered another room. It seemed exactly like the last room he was in.

"This is ridiculous!" Ash exclaimed.

As he kicked the wall he spotted a sign.

"A Pokémon Champion always knows what is RIGHT." Ash read out loud.

The words echoed in his mind but meant nothing to him.

"What do they mean, knows what is right?" Ash asked.

The saying implied moral obligation, not that he knew what that meant, but to be applied in direction was impossible. Then it struck him like a train.

"Right." Ash said as he chuckled.

He walked through the tunnels on the right side and entered a lit up room. A muscular man with long black hair, and black eyes sat like an Indian on the floor.

"I am Bruno of the Elite Four. I have trained for years to become powerful. I have tested the strength of myself and my Pokémon to claim a spot as one of the most powerful trainers in Kanto. All good trainers put in hard work and have determination." the man said.

"I am Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I challenge you to a battle." Ash said.

"I sense that you are ready for this challenge. I accept your challenge." Bruno said as he held a Pokeball.

Ash knew that it would only get harder from here, but whatever they threw at him he felt ready to take on.

"This will be a two vs two battle." Bruno said.

Ash nodded as he reached for a Pokeball.

"Hitmonchan, show them our power!" Bruno shouted.

"It's secret weapon time!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

* * *

_Author's Note: Thanks for getting this story up to 40,000+ views. One Elite Four member down, three to go. Keep your eyes peeled today, I might add another chapter today. I will try to start on Firered: A New Legacy, after I'm finished with Firered. _


	47. Fighting the Fighting Types

A bright flash of light subsided and revealed a large horse with a flaming mane.

"Rapidash use Poison Jab." Ash said calmly.

The fire type jabbed Hitmonchan with the horn on its head before Bruno could blink.

"Hitmonchan use Mach Punch." Bruno commanded.

The punch Pokémon unleashed a powerful punch just as fast as Rapidash could deliver a blow.

"Rapidash use Stomp." Ash said.

"Dodge it!" Bruno hollered.

The large horse stood up on its back legs and put its back legs back down. Hitmonchan ducked to the right and reached back.

"Focus Punch!" Bruno ordered.

"Bounce." Ash said confidently.

Hitmonchan took a swing at the air. A large flame engulfed it as Rapidash unleashed a powerful Fire Spin. A cyclone of flames circled Hitmonchan. The heat was so intense it caused Bruno and Ash to sweat.

"Hitmonchan use Mach Punch!" Bruno shouted.

The fighting type broke free from the cyclone's hold and hit Rapidash with a glowing fist.

"Rapidash use Flame Charge!" Ash commanded.

The horse stomped it hooves on the ground and galloped head first into Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan rolled across the ground like it was hit by a truck.

"Hitmonchan, you have more in you than this. I've seen you overcome tougher opponents than this." Bruno said.

The fighting type got back up and stood in a fighting stance.

"Rapidash use Flamethrower!" Ash hollered.

The fire horse breathed a large beam of flames that licked at Hitmonchan.

"Vacuum Wave." Bruno said as he smirked.

Hitmonchan spun at high speed and created a twister of fire. It stopped spinning and sent the fiery blast back at Ash's Rapidash. The horse was pushed backwards and Bruno chuckled.

"Give up, you aren't ready to face the Elite Four. I have yet to see a strong bond between you and your Pokémon. Without a strong bond you are nothing, and I will grind you into dust." Bruno bellowed.

"You'll be eating Murkrow after I get done with you." Ash replied.

"Prove it." Bruno bellowed.

"Rapidash use Flame Charge!" Ash hollered.

"Hitmonchan use Vacuum Wave." Bruno said.

The Elite Four member's voice echoed through the room as Hitmonchan fired a burst of high pressure air that slowed Rapidash down and cooled the flames around it.

"Hitmonchan use Mach Punch!" Bruno ordered.

"Rapidash use Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

The two Pokémon sprinted past each other at full speed and traded blows. Rapidash and Hitmonchan turned their backs to each other and stood for at least three minutes. Finally, Hitmonchan started to get weary and collapsed. Bruno knew the fighting type was out by the swirls in its eyes.

"Hitmonlee, let's end this!" Bruno boomed as he swapped out his Hitmonchan.

"Rapidash, return." Ash said as he returned Rapidash to its Pokeball.

He was actually happy that his friends were dreams right now, surely they'd be questioning his recent switch.

"Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he turned his baseball cap backwards.

* * *

"Hitmonlee use Hi Jump Kick." Bruno said calmly.

The fighting type leaped into the air and trust itself at Squirtle's abdomen. The turtle slid across the ground like a hockey puck and crashed into the wall.

"Darn, if I don't think of something fast I'm done for." Ash muttered.

"Hitmonlee use Hi Jump Kick!" Bruno bellowed.

"Squirtle use Water Pulse!" Ash hollered.

As Hitmonlee unleashed its flying kick, Squirtle threw a orb of water. A large wave formed, weakened Hitmonlee, and slowed it down so Squirtle didn't get blindsided. It dawned on Ash, and the light bulb in his head lit up.

"No matter how much you try to hit something in water all your attacks are slowed down." Ash mumbled.

"Squirtle use as many Water Pulse attacks as you can throw!" Ash commanded.

The water type hurled multiple spheres of water ay Hitmonlee as it could. A giant wall of water washed over Hitmonlee and knocked it off its feet.

"Squirtle use Ice Beam." Ash said.

The turtle Pokémon fired a lightning bolt shaped beam of cold at Hitmonlee.

"Get up, Hitmonlee." Bruno said.

The fighting type jumped to its feet and glared at Squirtle.

"Hi Jump Kick!" Bruno bellowed.

The fighting type leaped up into the air and preformed another flying kick.

"Squirtle use Water Pulse!" Ash shouted.

The turtle threw a orb of water that burst into a wave and swept Hitmonlee away.

"Hitmonlee use Stone Edge." Bruno commanded.

The fighting type kicked the ground and a boulder popped up from underground.

"Hitmonlee!" the kicking Pokémon screeched as it hit the boulder with a roundhouse kick.

The boulder splintered into multiple shards and the shards were sent flying straight at Squirtle with a flurry of kicks.

"Squirt..." the water type grunted as it was pelted by the stones.

"Blaze Kick and don't let up." Bruno said.

Hitmonlee started to unleash a barrage of flaming kicks at Squirtle.

"Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash said as he tried to keep his cool.

The tiny turtle Pokémon spit a steady stream of water at Hitmonlee that put out the flames from Blaze Kick.

"Squirtle, wrap this up with Water Pulse!" Ash shouted.

The water starter threw an orb of water that expanded into a wave and swept Hitmonlee away. The fighting type crashed into the wall and fainted.

"How could I have lost?" Bruno asked himself as he returned Hitmonlee to its Pokeball.

Ash stood still and in silence until Bruno began to speak.

"Well, what are you waiting for? My job is done, go face your next challenger!" he exclaimed.

As Ash entered the next room he was disturbed by what he saw.

"Graves, nothing but graves." Ash muttered.

Suddenly, the door shut behind him. Dim lights flicked on and off down the hall as Ash tiptoed towards what appeared to be the next room. The silence in the room gave him the creeps.

"Hello, child. We have expected you." a voice echoed through the room.

* * *

_Author's Note: I am sad, my favorite baseball team just traded one of their best prospects. Oh well, it'll be worth it if we win a World Series. Another Elite Four matchup over and another one is looming. I'm looking forward to writing Firered: A New Legacy, I just hope it's half as good as this. Please review, Swordsman4 out! _


	48. Haunter vs Pikachu

An old lady with graying blonde hair, charcoal black eyes, and a purple dress turned to face Ash.

"A child like you shouldn't be here, a child doesn't stand a chance against us. He is wrong, to say that you are the next champion." the woman scoffed.

"With all due respect, you're wrong. I have beaten Bruno and Lorelei. And I can give you a run for your money." Ash said.

"Much confidence resides inside you, I like that. But I'm afraid your journey ends here. I Agatha of the Elite Four will show you true power." the Elite Four member said.

Agatha threw a Pokeball and smirked as a Haunter appeared.

"Let's make this quick, I only have one Pokémon. You may only use one of your Pokemon." Agatha said.

Ash nodded as he reached for a Pokeball.

"You're going to have to be strong, I need you for this battle." Ash muttered as he threw the red and white sphere.

A flash of light appeared as the Pokeball opened and revealed a Pikachu.

* * *

"Haunter use Shadow Punch." Agatha commanded.

The ghost type extended its hands and a large purple fist slammed into Pikachu.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Pikachuuuuuuu!" the mouse grunted as it discharged a powerful lightning bolt.

"Haunter, dodge it." Agatha said calmly.

The ghost Pokémon phased through the floor and resurfaced behind Pikachu.

"Hypnosis." Agatha said.

Haunter's eyes glowed a bright blue as Pikachu drifted off to sleep.

"Dream Eater." Agatha said before Ash could order an attack.

Haunter created a shadow-like clone that phased through Pikachu and returned to it. Pikachu began to squirm from its energy being drained.

"Get up, Pikachu!" Ash hollered.

"Nightmare." Agatha said.

A black aura surrounded Pikachu as it gave the mouse dreams. Pikachu flailed around on the floor.

"Wake up!" Ash screamed as he tried to wake the sleeping electric type.

The electric mouse's eyes opened and Ash grinned.

"Pikachu use Agility!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu ran towards Haunter at full speed and veered back and forth to confuse Haunter.

"Hypnosis." Agatha said.

"Quick Attack!" Ash hollered.

Pikachu dashed right through Haunter.

"Normal type attacks don't have any effect on ghosts, child." Agatha said.

"I'm not trying to hit Haunter, if you look carefully Pikachu is still awake. My Pikachu's speed is extremely high when Agility and Quick Attack are combined. And the best part is, Pikachu doesn't look into Haunter's eyes because its behind it." Ash explained.

"Perhaps the champion is right, he does have potential." Agatha muttered.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash hollered.

"Shadow Punch." Agatha said calmly.

The two attacks collided and knocked each Pokémon backwards.

"Haunter use Hypnosis." Agatha ordered.

"Close your eyes, Pikachu and use your hearing to navigate." Ash said.

The electric mouse shut its eyes and twitched its eyes to try and "find" Haunter. Pikachu ended up running into a wall, much to Ash's chagrin.

"Focus." Ash said.

"Enough with this, Hypnosis." Agatha commanded.

Haunter's eyes glowed bright blue, but it had no effect because Pikachu's eyes were closed.

"You can't hypnotize a Pikachu with its eyes closed." Ash taunted.

"Then we'll force it to open its eyes." Agatha replied.

Haunter fired a purple beam of circles that hit Pikachu.

"Use your hearing." Ash repeated.

The mouse began to focus on the sounds of its surroundings. Pikachu could hear a faint hum from the beam of energy and leaped over it with an amazing display of agility.

"Thunderbolt." Ash ordered.

Pikachu locked onto the sound of Haunter's breathing and fired a lightning bolt at it.

"What in the world?!" Agatha gasped.

Much to her annoyance, Ash had neutralized her best attack combo. Hypnosis and Dream Eater. She would have to attack without it.

"Shadow Punch." Agatha commanded.

Haunter's fists slammed into Pikachu and knocked it into the wall. The mouse started to get weary. It couldn't keep this up much longer. Pikachu collapsed on the ground and struggled to get up. Pikachu couldn't stand up no matter how hard it tried.

"That's the match, your Pikachu can barely stand let alone fight." Agatha said.

"Pikachu, return." Ash said as he held up its Pokeball.

The mouse shook its head.

"Pika!" it shouted.

"You don't have to fight." Ash insisted.

"Pika-pi!" the electric mouse shouted.

The electric mouse recalled Ash saving it from the clutches of Team Rocket, shocking Gary, and the trials the team got through and found a second wind. Pikachu stood up once more and glared at Haunter with a icy stare. Ash smirked as he watched Pikachu's display of courage. His current Pikachu reminded him of the one from his dreams, it was a fighter and would overcome any obstacle.

"Haunter, hit Pikachu with an Ice Punch." Agatha said calmly.

Ash watched as the Haunter rushed forward with an icy fist.

"Pikachu, Haunter's at eleven o' clock! Hit it with an Electro Ball!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu charged up a lightning ball and hurled it with its tail. Haunter couldn't stop it forward momentum as it dashed towards Pikachu and was electrocuted by the orb of energy. An unconscious Haunter sat at Pikachu's feet.

"Haunter, return." Agatha said.

"Pikachu, return." Ash said.

As the trainers returned their Pokémon to their Pokeballs, Agatha nodded.

"You're quite the trainer, child. I was wrong, I can see you potential." Agatha said.

Ash nodded and exited the room. He entered another hallway and found he was inside a Pokémon Center.

"I see you have made it to the halfway point." Giovanni said as he got up from his seat.

"Halfway point?" Ash questioned.

"They consider this the halfway point, so they created this place. They never had this back in my day." Giovanni replied.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"I'm going to get a front row seat so I can watch you face the champion, every trainer in Kanto's going to be there. They hate to miss seeing the champion battle a challenger." Giovanni explained.

Ash smiled. Who knew he was so popular? As he got his Pokémon healed, Ash slowly approached the next door. The final Elite Four challenge stood beyond that door, and then the champion. As he opened the door he had figured out who he was facing next. The bamboo floors and dojo-like appearance only meant one person.

"I am Koga of the Elite Four." a voice boomed.

* * *

_Author's Note: One last Elite Four matchup and then I reveal the champion. Let the speculation begin._


	49. The Ninja Strikes!

The Elite Four ninja held a Pokeball and stared at Ash.

"There is more to battling than just brute strength, strategy and technique are every bit as important." Koga said.

Ash nodded as he glanced at a Pokeball. He smirked as Koga sent out a Muk. Ash was glad that he had swapped out Rapidash for another of his father's Pokemon, this choice would be better suited to take Muk down.

"Typhlosion, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

The fire type turned to look back at Ash and rolled its eyes.

"This will be a three vs three battle." Koga said.

"I accept." Ash replied.

"Muk use Sludge Bomb." Koga commanded.

The poison type swung its arm and it fell apart. Purple chunks of slime exploded as it hit Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion use Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

Much to Ash's annoyance, the volcano Pokémon ignored him. It smirked as it stood still and continued to ignore Ash's commands.

"Muk use Mud Bomb." Koga said as he pointed at Typhlosion.

Muk opened its mouth and fired balls of mud at Typhlosion that exploded on impact.

"You've gotta listen ta me, Typhlosion!" Ash shouted.

The fire type continued to ignore everything Ash said.

"To see that you can't even control your own Pokémon shows that you aren't ready for the role of champion." Koga said.

Ash's anger started to rise. He wasn't going to take an insult like that, and he sure as well didn't get all the way here to lose.

"Typhlosion, return." Ash said.

The red beam from the Pokeball surrounded the volcano Pokémon, but Typhlosion still wouldn't return. The fire type walked off the field and slept a few feet from Ash. The trainer from Pallet Town shook his head and reached for another Pokeball. If Typhlosion wouldn't listen to him he'd use another Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Ash hollered.

"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf!" Ash commanded.

Bulbasaur hurled about a dozen sharp leaves at Muk. As they hit the sludge Pokémon, it was just absorbed into its slimy body.

"Muk use Sludge Bomb!" Koga hollered.

The sludge Pokémon hurled several blobs of goop at Bulbasaur that knocked it backwards.

"Bulbasaur use Solarbeam." Ash ordered.

"Muk use Poison Gas." Koga said calmly.

A green smog was exhaled from Muk's mouth. The gas covered Bulbasaur and prevented it from charging Solarbeam.

"Muk use Poison Jab!" Koga bellowed.

The poisonous sludge Pokémon formed a fist out of its right "arm" and punched Bulbasaur. Sludge splattered everywhere and knocked Bulbasaur silly. The grass starter stumbled around for a few seconds as it tried to regain its composure.

"Bulbasaur use Giga Drain." Ash said.

He figured even if it wasn't very effective it would buy him some time to think.

"Muk use Sludge Wave." Koga instructed.

A wave of purple slime washed over Bulbasaur and pushed it backwards. Bulbasaur was starting to get very tired from the battle.

"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf." Ash said.

Bulbasaur threw a barrage of leaves that sliced through Muk's body. The poison type's body continued to reform with each cut.

"Muk use Mud Bomb." Koga said.

"Dodge it!" Ash screeched.

Bulbasaur sidestepped the balls of sludge like a kid in a game of dodgeball. Suddenly, an idea popped into Ash's mind.

"Bulbasaur use Seed Bomb!" Ash shrieked.

The bulb Pokémon fired a glowing ball from the bulb on its back. The ball exploded as it entered Muk's sludge-like body. Sludge splattered everywhere, but Ash was sure the first match was over. The sludge started to move and clump together to reform Muk.

"You didn't think that would be enough to stop us, did you?" Koga asked.

The sludge Pokémon was put together again and it fired another wave of slime at Bulbasaur. As the wave subsided it revealed that Bulbasaur had fainted. Ash returned Bulbasaur to its Pokeball and started to get nervous. The battle wasn't going as he had planned. Ash reached for his starter's Pokeball and smirked.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash shouted.

The large dragon let out a loud roar as it glared at Muk.

"Charizard use Flamethrower." Ash commanded.

A orange flame hit Muk and the sludge-like body of Muk began to boil like water. Slowly but surely, Muk started to solidify like cement. The sludge Pokémon couldn't move from the effects of Flamethrower.

"Charizard use Slash." Ash ordered.

The fire-flying type ripped through Muk's body after it was dried out and knocked it out.

"Impressive..." Koga said as he paused a moment to think.

The ninja reached for an item in his pocket and threw it.

"...But Ariados will beat you." Koga added.

"Charizard use Flamethrower." Ash said confidently.

"Double Team." Koga said.

As Charizard breathed flames, Ariados split into multiple clones. The fake illusions were vaporized by Flamethrower, but the real one hit Charizard with sharp poisonous needles.

"Ariados use Psychic." Koga said.

A blue aura surrounded Charizard before it was tossed into the air like a ragdoll The dragon crashed to the ground and got up only to see Ariados' horn about to strike it.

"Charizard use Overheat!" Ash shouted.

"Ariados use Double Team." Koga said.

Once again, Charizard burnt illusions with flames but was struck in the back with a Poison Jab.

"Charizard use Slash." Ash said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

The fire type hit Ariados with its razor sharp claws and Ariados slid across the floor.

"Take to the skies." Ash said.

The dragon flapped its wings and began to circle Ariados and showed off its impressive speed.

"Ariados use Shadow Sneak!" Koga screeched.

A dark aura glowed around Ariados as it created a shadow of itself that hit Charizard. Charizard spun out of control but managed to avoid hitting the ground. It regained altitude and stared down at Ariados.

"Use Overheat!" Ash hollered.

Charizard swept over the battlefield with a large breath of fire. Ariados was engulfed in flames as Overheat hit it. As the flames started to die down, Ash was shocked to see the spider Pokémon still standing.

"Psychic." Koga said.

Ariados' eyes glowed blue as it slammed Charizard into the walls repeatedly. The mighty fire type's determination started to show as it tried to break Aridos' hold on it. Charizard put all its willpower into breaking free and somehow did.

"Flamethrower." Ash said.

With a deep breath, Charizard spit a mouthful of fire that burnt Ariados to a crisp. Still, the bug type refused to fall to Charizard.

"Ariados use Poison Sting." Koga said.

The spider Pokémon fired sharp purple needles at Charizard that oozed venom. The damage Ariados and Charizard dealt to each other was starting to take its toll.

"Charizard use Wing Attack." Ash said.

The dragon slammed into Ariados with its wing, but was clipped with several more Poison Sting barbs.

"Ariados use Psychic to pull Charizard in closer and finish him with Poison Jab." Koga ordered.

Ariados' eyes glowed blue and trapped Charizard in energy. The fire type inched closer towards Ariados and Ash started to sweat. He had one chance to time this right.

"Break free!" Ash hollered as the dragon was three feet from Ariados.

Charizard managed to free itself from Ariados' Psychic and grab the bug type.

"Seismic Toss!" Ash shouted.

Charizard flew in a loop and threw Ariados to the ground. A large crater was formed from where Ariados landed and dust reduced the visibility of the battlefield. As the dust cleared it was obvious that Ariados had no fight left in it is it collapsed. Just as Ariados fell down and fainted, Charizard ran out of steam and went out cold.

"So it all comes down to our final Pokémon." Ash said.

"Yes." Koga replied as he threw a Pokeball.

A purple bat hovered about the battlefield and shrieked.

"Crobat." Ash muttered.

* * *

_Author's Note: You didn't think I'd make the final Elite Four battle a single chapter, did you? I'll try to sneak a weekend update in if I'm not busy. If not then, expect the usual Monday update. Swordsman4 out! _


	50. Fall of the Ninja, Rise of the Champion

Koga's Crobat hovered a few feet from where Koga stood.

"Typhlosion is my only hope." Ash muttered.

The fire type had a different look on its face as it got up and looked over at Ash.

"Come on, Typhlosion!" Ash shouted.

The fire type got up and smirked as it stood next to Ash. A new found trust and respect filled Typhlosion.

"Quit while you're ahead." Koga warned.

"Yeah right, I'm pretty sure Typhlosion and I can beat you." Ash replied.

The trainer from Pallet Town turned his cap backwards and chuckled.

"Typhlosion use Flamethrower." Ash said with little confidence in his voice.

He closed his eyes as he expected the volcano Pokémon to ignore him. Much to Ash's surprise, the fire type spit a mouthful of flames at Crobat. It dawned on Ash that the fire type had probably seen his Charizard in action and gained a little more respect for him. Whatever the cause, he'd have a MUCH better chance at beating Koga.

"Crobat use Poison Fang." Koga commanded.

The bat Pokémon dashed down towards Typhlosion and bit it with its fangs. The fire type tried to get the bat off of its arm, but Crobat wouldn't loosen its grip. Ash began to panic until he came up with an idea.

"Typhlosion use Flame Wheel!" Ash shouted.

The volcano Pokémon engulfed itself in a flaming wheel and rolled around the battlefield. Crobat released Typhlosion from its jaws after being burnt to a crisp.

"Crobat, attack Typhlosion with a Air Slash." Koga said.

Crobat fired several disks of air at Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion use Rollout!" Ash hollered.

The volcano Pokémon rolled up into a ball and darted behind Crobat.

"Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

Before Crobat could turn around, a large breath of flame engulfed Crobat.

"Crobat use Sludge Bomb." Koga said.

The poison-flying type spit blobs of brown goo from its mouth that pelted Typhlosion.

"Crobat, confuse them with Double Team." Koga said.

The bat Pokémon created multiple copies of itself and circled Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion use Flamethrower and hit all the Crobat you see!" Ash commanded.

A sweeping breath of flame hit all of the illusion Crobat and took out the real Crobat at once.

"Crobat use Wing Attack." Koga said calmly.

"Typhlosion use Rollout." Ash said as he hesitated.

That second of hesitation resulted in Typhlosion taking a Wing Attack to the face. Ash gulped as Crobat created copies of itself again.

"Crobat use Screech!" Koga bellowed.

The real Crobat unleashed a ear-splitting shriek that distracted Typhlosion.

"Crobat use Wing Attack." Koga said.

The bat Pokémon dove straight into Typhlosion as its wings glowed a bright white. Typhlosion slid across the dirt floor and growled as it glared at Crobat. The poison Pokémon circled Typhlosion and kept its gaze on it.

"Crobat use Air Slash." Koga said.

Crobat hurled saw-like blades of air at Typhlosion.

"Shake it off and use Overheat!" Ash hollered.

Typhlosion began to glow a dark red before unleashing a powerful beam of fire that engulfed Crobat. Ash was stunned to see that Crobat was still hovering.

"My Crobat is not even phased by your attacks, Double Team has been used more than you think." Koga said.

Suddenly, Crobat bit Typhlosion with a Poison Fang and a dark purple aura surrounded Typhlosion.

"Crobat use Venoshock." Koga commanded.

A green liquid was spit out of Crobat's mouth and the ooze drenched Typhlosion. The fire type collapsed in pain and started to succumb to the damage it received during the fight. Ash knew Typhlosion was pretty much done for unless he finished this battle.

"Typhlosion use Flamethrower." Ash commanded.

The fire type spit flames that missed Crobat by an inch. Suddenly, the real Crobat popped up behind Typhlosion.

"Thunderpunch!" Ash hollered.

The badger-like Pokémon twirled around and spotted Crobat. It smacked Crobat with an electrified punch and smirked. Both Ash and Typhlosion sensed it. The battle was almost over.

"Crobat, get up." Koga said calmly.

The bat took to the skies and glared at Typhlosion as the poison started to get to it.

"Now's the time to strike, Wing Attack." Koga said.

Crobat dipped down and rushed head first at the fire type.

"Typhlosion use Blast Burn!" Ash shouted.

The volcano Pokémon shook its head and locked onto Crobat. Before it could hit it, Typhlosion sidestepped Crobat and began to charge up its attack. The flames on Typhlosion's back grew as it spit out a large flame that swirled as it hit Crobat. The flame engulfed Crobat and forced Koga to run over towards the wall to escape the blaze. The flames disappeared a few seconds after the attack and revealed that Crobat was out cold.

"You have proven yourself worthy of facing the champion." Koga said as he returned Crobat to its Pokeball.

Ash smiled as he heard those words and returned Typhlosion to its Pokeball.

"I did it, I made it to the champion." Ash muttered as he looked up at the sky.

As he entered the next room, Ash looked around. He couldn't tell what was in the darkened room. It sounded like he was treading on metal. Ash stood on a platform and almost fell over as he heard a loud grinding sound. The platform rose up like an elevator until he stood in a large stadium. A crowd of people sat in the stands and he heard the cheers. A man stood on the other side of the battlefield and for some odd reason it was darker on that side.

"Ash Ketchum, presume?" the champion asked.

"Y-yes." Ash replied.

"I've heard a lot about you, and now we finally battle. You may ready your Pokémon." the champion said as he held a Pokeball.

Ash set his Pokeballs down on a table and swapped out Typhlosion for another Pokémon using the transporter. A green light swept over his Pokémon as the machine healed his Pokémon.

"Let the battle begin." Ash said.

"Agreed." the champion replied as he snapped his fingers.

Bright floodlights lit up both sides of the battlefield and the champion turned around to face Ash.

* * *

_Author's Note: The last few chapters of Firered are coming up soon. Sorry about any spelling errors, darn allergy meds aren't non-drowsy. I'm so excited to start Firered: A New Legacy, I've got the plot all figured out. Please review, Swordsman4 out!_


	51. The Final Battle-Part One

The lights revealed who the champion was and caused Ash to flinch.

"Uncle Giovanni?" Ash questioned.

"Surprise, I figured you'd reach your full potential." Giovanni replied.

"You're the champion?" Ash asked.

"Just because David took the title from me once didn't mean I gave up. The rematch gave me my old title back." Giovanni explained.

Giovanni paused for a second and reached for a different Pokeball.

"Let the match begin and make it a full battle." he said as he threw a Pokeball.

* * *

The Pokeball opened to reveal a large dinosaur like Pokémon with a flower on its back. Ash started to kick himself for not keeping Typhlosion with him, but that was the past. This would be a gutsy call, but if it paid off it'd be worth it.

"Crobat, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

"Venusaur use Leaf Storm." Giovanni said with a trademark Ketchum smirk.

The grass type whipped up a flurry of leaves that pelted Crobat.

"Crobat use Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted.

The bat was surrounded in a bright light as it divebombed Venusaur.

"Venusaur use Frenzy Plant." Giovanni commanded.

As Crobat preformed its attack, Venusaur hit Crobat with giant roots that sprung up underground as Crobat tried to fly away.

"Crobat use Supersonic." Ash said.

The poison type took to the skies once more and let out a screech that left Venusaur confused.

"Venusaur, shake it off and use Solarbeam." Giovanni said calmly.

The evolved grass starter shook its head and began to charge up a powerful Solarbeam using the lights. Ash smirked as he recalled Koga's little trick.

"Crobat use Haze." Ash said.

Crobat coughed a cloud of smoke out from its mouth that blocked the light.

"Now use Wing Attack." Ash commanded.

The purple bat kept slamming its wings into Venusaur. The dinosaur-like Pokémon grabbed Crobat with a Vine Whip to get it to restrain it.

"Venusaur use Double Edge." Giovanni said.

"Crobat use Air Slash to cut yourself free." Ash ordered.

Crobat cut the vines with several saw shaped blades of air, before Venusaur crashed into the wall.

"Venusaur use Frenzy Plant." Giovanni commanded.

After Venusaur collided with the wall, it unleashed roots from underground. Crobat managed to dodge most of them, but one slammed into it from behind.

"You are quite clever, but it's over for your Crobat." Giovanni said as he watched the poison-flying type hit the ground.

Ash gulped as he returned Crobat to its Pokeball. He was already down by one, he needed to even this up and fast.

"Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash hollered as he sent out the water type.

The turtle Pokémon flinched as it saw Venusaur.

"You can beat 'em!" Ash cheered.

"Venusaur use Leaf Storm." Giovanni said.

A gust of wind blew a flurry of leaves into Squirtle.

"Squirtle use Rapid Spin and Water Gun!" Ash hollered.

The turtle Pokémon hid in its shell and knocked the leaves away as it spun like a lawn sprinkler.

"Squirtle use Ice Beam." Ash said confidently.

The water starter fired a lightning bolt shaped beam of ice that froze Venusaur's front legs.

"Venusaur use Frenzy Plant." Giovanni said.

Venusaur stomped the ground and giant roots slammed into Squirtle. The turtle Pokémon was knocked on its shell and it couldn't get up. Ash noticed that Venusaur was tired from the barrage of attacks it had unleashed and needed some time to regain its energy.

"Squirtle use Water Gun to propel yourself forward." Ash said.

The turtle Pokémon slid across the ground as it spit a steady stream of water from its mouth. As it slid underneath Venusaur, an idea popped into Ash's head.

"Ice Beam!" Ash hollered.

Squirtle froze Venusaur's legs so it couldn't move.

"Squirtle use Water Pulse." Ash commanded.

"What is he doing?" Giovanni questioned.

A giant wave formed around Venusaur and pushed it a few feet backwards.

"Ice Beam!" Ash shouted.

Squirtle fired a beam of ice that trapped Venusaur in ice. As the wave shattered it revealed an unconscious Venusaur. Ash sighed as he started to relax.

"I presume you've learned a lot on your journey, we as trainers must use the lessons we've learned." Giovanni said as he threw a Pokeball.

"Espeon use Quick Attack." Giovanni bellowed.

* * *

The feline-like Pokémon tackled Squirtle and flipped it back on its feet as it hit its shell.

"Squirtle use Water Gun." Ash said.

Squirtle spit a stream of water that soaked Espeon.

"Espeon use Psybeam." Giovanni said.

"Dodge it, Squirtle!" Ash shouted.

A rainbow-colored beam just edged Squirtle's shell as Espeon fired a blast of energy.

"Squirtle use Water Pulse." Ash said.

Squirtle tossed a ball of water that formed a wave.

"Espeon use Psychic." Giovanni commanded.

The wave of water was surrounded in a blue aura and it started to move back towards Squirtle. The wave crashed on top of Squirtle and swept it backwards. Squirtle found itself on its back again and squirmed as it tried to get back up.

"Espeon use Psychic once more." Giovanni said.

The cat-like Pokémon tossed Squirtle into the air and slammed it against the floor until it fainted.

"Try as you might, but you're not going to beat Espeon." Giovanni said.

Ash shook his head, his uncle wouldn't be an easy trainer to beat, but if there was a will, there was a way. This would be a bold move, but he didn't come here to lose.

"Porygon, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he sent out his Porygon.

"Porygon use Zap Cannon!" Ash shouted.

The digital Pokémon fired a ball of lightning that electrocuted Espeon. Ash smirked as he knew the status condition Zap Cannon brought with it would level the playing field, speed wise at least. Giovanni crossed his arms as Espeon's body glowed a bright purple. A beam of energy hit Porygon and transferred the Paralysis to Porygon.

"Magic Bounce. It transfers status ailments." Giovanni explained.

Ash gulped as he watched Porygon struggle to move.

"Espeon use Psybeam." Giovanni commanded.

Ash gulped as he watched Espeon charge a beam of rainbow-colored energy. He had to think fast or else he'd be handed a loss.

* * *

_Author's Note: Back to back chapters. The champion has been revealed and the ultimate battle begins. The final three chapters of Firered begin. Please review, Swordsman4 out!_


	52. The Final Battle-Part Two

Ash chuckled as Espeon fired a powerful Psybeam. Giovanni wasn't the only person with tricks up his sleeve.

"Porygon use Protect." Ash said.

A yellow energy dome surrounded Porygon and blocked the energy blast.

"Porygon use Zap Cannon." Ash commanded.

"Future Sight." Giovanni said calmly.

Espeon's eyes glowed blue as it stared up into the sky. Ash began to sweat as he knew that he had to finish this battle. Zap Cannon exploded as it struck Espeon. The static sparked around Espeon until Magic Bounce reflected back at Porygon.

"Espeon use Quick Attack!" Giovanni shouted.

With cat-like reflexes, Espeon pounced on Porygon before it could blink.

"Espeon use Double Team." Giovanni said.

The sun Pokémon split into ten different copies and slowly approached Porygon.

"Lock On!" Ash shouted.

Porygon's eyes glowed a bright red as it locked its gaze on its target.

"Espeon use Quick Attack." Giovanni said.

The feline-like Pokémon collided with Porygon and bounced back to Giovanni's side.

"My Espeon is just too difficult to beat." Giovanni said.

"We'll see 'bout that! Porygon use Hyper Beam!" Ash commanded.

"Double Team." Giovanni said.

Porygon began to charge a red orb of energy and fired a beam from it. The glowing beam of energy turned to the side and hit the real Espeon.

"What?!" Giovanni gasped.

"Two words: Lock On." Ash said confidently.

Suddenly, the sky darkened briefly before a large lightning bolt struck Porygon and knocked it out. Ash returned Porygon to its Pokeball and began to think. He had the team to win this, he just needed to put it together.

"Bulbasaur, let's win this!" Ash shouted.

As the Pokeball opened it revealed the grass starter.

"Bulbasaur use Sludge Bomb." Ash said.

The seed Pokémon fired globs of sludge from it back that exploded around Espeon. The feline managed to dodge the blasts with its surprising speed.

"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf." Ash commanded.

The grass type threw several leaves at Espeon as it dodged the remaining sludge blobs. Ash smirked as the leaves hit and sent Espeon tumbling across the floor. Swirls were visible in Espeon's eyes, and Giovanni returned the psychic type to its Pokeball.

"You fought well, Espeon." Giovanni muttered.

"You have passed my expectations, I thought you'd lose as soon as Espeon was unleashed." Giovanni said.

The Kanto champion reached for another Pokeball and chuckled.

"Lapras, go!" Giovanni bellowed as he threw a Pokeball.

The transport Pokémon glared at Bulbasaur and waited for Giovanni's command.

"Bulbasaur use Seed Bomb." Ash commanded.

The grass type fired a green orb at Lapras that exploded. A bright flash of green light glowed through the stadium after Bulbasaur threw a seed.

"Lapras use Icy Wind." Giovanni said calmly.

The transport Pokémon puffed out a breath of chilly air that put a thin layer of frost around Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur use Giga Drain." Ash said.

Bulbasaur grabbed onto Lapras with a green vine and began to drain Lapras' energy. Lapras struggled to break free from Bulbasaur's Giga Drain attack because of how fast its energy was being drained.

"Frost Breath." Giovanni commanded.

Lapras blew a breath of frigid air at Bulbasaur that was so cold Ash could feel it on the other side of the battlefield.

"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf." Ash said.

The bulb Pokémon threw several razor sharp leaves at Lapras that knocked it back a few feet.

"Lapras use Blizzard." Giovanni said confidently.

Lapras unleashed a large blast of snow from its mouth, the temperature was so cold that Bulbasaur was trapped in a block of ice.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash screamed in horror.

The grass type was trapped in a iceberg and couldn't escape.

"Lapras use Sheer Cold." Giovanni bellowed.

Lapras began to charge Sheer Cold up to full power.

"Bulbasaur, you have to get out of there!" Ash shouted as loud as he could.

The seed Pokémon managed to break free by detonating a Seed Bomb. Sheer Cold whizzed over Bulbasaur's head and froze the wall. Ash noticed Bulbasaur started to glow a bright white and began to morph. An Ivysaur stood in its place and stared at Lapras. A bright green aura surrounded Ivysaur, and Ash figured it was Overgrow.

"Lapras use Frost Breath." Giovanni said.

"Dodge it and stand in the spotlight!" Ash shouted.

As Lapras blew a breath of pure ice, Ivysaur sidestepped the attack and ran over towards the lights. It stood in the middle of where the light was brightest and waited for Ash's command.

"Solarbeam!" Ash hollered.

The light was so bright, Solarbeam was charged immediately. The bright blue beam engulfed Lapras and weakened it. An unconscious Lapras laid on the ground, until Giovanni held up its Pokeball. The red beam sucked Lapras inside the orb.

"You tried your best and that's all that counts." Giovanni told his Lapras as he clipped the orb back on his belt.

Giovanni reached for another Pokeball and tossed it. A large blue turtle with giant cannons on its back, glared at Ivysaur.

* * *

"Blastoise use Flash Cannon." Giovanni bellowed.

The shellfish Pokémon fired a silver colored beam from the cannons on its back that hit Ivysaur. The evolved grass starter slid across the ground and braced itself for another attack.

"Ivysaur use Razor Leaf." Ash ordered.

The grass type hurled several blade-like leaves at Blastiose that pelted it. Blastiose cringed after being hit by the super effective attack but shook it off.

"Blastoise use Dragon Tail." Giovanni said as he snapped his fingers.

Blastoise twirled around and swung its tail straight into Ivysaur like a club. Ivysaur tumbled across the ground and struggled to get up.

"Ivysaur use Giga Drain!" Ash shouted.

The seed Pokémon grabbed Blastoise with a vine-like beam that replenished some of Ivysaur's energy.

"Blastoise use Skull Bash." Giovanni said.

The large tortoise Pokémon stomped its feet as it bull rushed Ivysaur.

"Dodge it!" Ash shouted.

The grass type froze up like a Sawbuck in headlights as Blastoise inched closer and closer. Ash knew this wouldn't end well.

* * *

_Author's Note: The second part of the final showdown is finished. The final chapter is being written as we speak. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review. Swordsman4 out!_


	53. Saying Goodbyes

Ash watched in horror as Ivysaur was sent flying into the air as Blastoise slammed into it. The grass type tumbled across the ground like a tumbleweed. Black swirls were visible in Ivysaur's eyes, and Ash knew that Ivysaur was out as soon as he saw it get hit.

"Return." Ash said as he held up an Pokeball.

The red light engulfed Ivysaur and absorbed the grass type.

"You fought well." Ash muttered.

He paused and began to think. Giovanni stood motionless and remained silent. His uncle didn't seem like much of a talker in battle, he had only mentioned Espeon's power and a few other things but had remained like a statue. Ash figured that he was planning his next moves.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw a Pokeball.

The electric mouse squeaked as it looked around.

"A Pikachu, huh? Interesting choice." Giovanni said.

"Pikachu, show them what you've got with Thunderbolt!" Ash hollered.

The electric mouse discharged a powerful lightning bolt from its cheeks.

"Blastoise use Waterfall." Giovanni commanded.

Blastoise's eyes glowed blue as a large curtain of spiraling water fell from the sky. It blocked the electrical current from hitting Blastoise and caused Giovanni to smirk.

"I hope you enjoy what I call my counter shield technique, it's an old trick David taught me." Giovanni said.

Ash recalled the trick from his dreams, and figured he had learned about it before the incident.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail." Ash said.

"Counter with Dragon Tail, Blastoise!" Giovanni bellowed.

The two tail-based attacks collided and knocked the Pokémon back.

"Pikachu use Agility." Ash said as he glanced at the wall.

The mouse bolted past Blastoise and began to pick up speed.

"Run up the wall, with Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

"What is he doing?" Giovanni questioned.

Pikachu dashed up the wall using its speed and started to run higher and higher.

"Stop when you reach the peak of the roof!" Ash hollered.

The mouse had a puzzled look on its face as it ran up the wall, but it obeyed.

"Blastoise use Flash Cannon." Giovanni commanded.

"Agility!" Ash screeched.

As Blastoise fired a silver beam, Pikachu zigzagged back and forth to dodge Blastoise's Flash Cannon blasts. As the mouse inched closer to the highest point of the roof, Ash smirked.

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu leaped from the ceiling and powered up its tail. As it fell through the air it lined itself up to strike Blastoise. Pikachu twirled until its tail struck Blastoise on the head. The jarring blow created a crater in the ground and revealed an unconscious Blastoise.

"He looks like him, talks like him, and battles like him." Giovanni muttered as he withdrew Blastoise.

"You are quite the trainer, your father would be proud. You will claim the title of champion one day, but I'm afraid it won't be today." Giovanni said as he threw a Pokeball.

"Kaaaaaaa!" a yellow Pokémon with red cheeks squeaked.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash shouted.

"Pikachu use Dynamicpunch!" Giovanni boomed.

Ash's Pikachu twirled as it tried to strike its opponent with its tail. Giovanni's Pikachu countered with a red glowing fist. Both attacks caused the other Pokémon to slid across the floor. The Pikachu glared at each other with a determined look, neither of them wanted to lose.

"Pikachu use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.

Ash's Pikachu darted towards its opponent and tackled it. Giovanni's Pikachu slid backwards a few feet and got back into a fighting stance.

"Pikachu use Seismic Toss." Giovanni said calmly.

"Seismic Toss?!" Ash gasped.

Giovanni's Pikachu grabbed Ash's Pikachu by the tail and leaped into the air. The mouse twirled a few times before tossing Ash's Pikachu to the ground.

"My Pikachu was not raised in the era yours was, I was able to teach mine a few moves that the Pokémon with the modern day genetics cannot learn." Giovanni explained.

"Pikachu, get up!" Ash shouted.

His electric mouse was still groggy from being tossed like a ragdoll.

"Pika-pi!" Ash's Pikachu shouted as it leaped to its feet.

"Pikachu use Dynamicpunch." Giovanni said.

"Dodge it!" Ash hollered.

As Giovanni's Pikachu threw a punch, Ash's Pikachu ducked and twirled to hit its opponent with a powerful Iron Tail. Giovanni's Pikachu rolled across the ground and got up as quick as it could.

"Pikachu use Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Pikachu darted towards Giovanni's Pikachu and hit it.

"Pikachu use Brick Break." Giovanni said.

Giovanni's Pikachu followed Ash's Pikachu's attack up with a karate chop.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Pikachu slapped Giovanni's Pikachu with an Iron Tail to knock it over.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Ash commanded.

Ash's Pikachu fired a lightning bolt at Giovanni's Pikachu. The attack had little effect and Giovanni's Pikachu got up. With a quick nod, Giovanni's Pikachu dashed towards Ash's Pikachu. It transferred a Quick Attack into a Dynamicpunch.

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted.

The Pikachu traded blows and stood with their backs turned to each other like samurai warriors. The damage they dealt to each other started to take its toll and neither could stand up much longer. Both Pikachu collapsed and swirls spun in their eyes.

"Return." Ash and Giovanni said in unison as they held up a Pokeball.

It looked like a mirror image as both champion and trainer swapped out their fainted Pokémon for a healthy one.

"I've been saving the best for last!" both trainers shouted.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash and Giovanni shouted as they sent out their final Pokémon.

* * *

"Charizard use Flamethrower!" Ash shouted as his fire-flying type took to the sky.

Ash's Charizard tried to hit Giovanni's Charizard with a breath of pure fire. Giovanni's Charizard proved itself to be faster as it turned to the side and flapped its wings to gain altitude.

"Charizard use Wing Attack!" Giovanni shouted.

Giovanni's Charizard bumped into Ash's Charizard with its left wing and knocked Ash's Charizard out of its flight pattern.

"Charizard use Flare Blitz." Giovanni commanded.

His Charizard surrounded itself in blue flames as it followed Ash's Charizard.

"Charizard use Dragon Tail!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Charizard twirled through the air and gained altitude. It turned to face Giovanni's Charizard and dove straight at it. Ash's Charizard swung its tail before it collided with Giovanni's Charizard. The two attacks flashed as they hit and knocked the Pokémon away from each other. Both Pokémon landed in front of their respective trainers.

"Charizard use Flamethrower!" Ash hollered.

"Inferno." Giovanni said as he tried to remain calm.

The orange flame from Ash's Charizard and the blue flame from Giovanni's Charizard collided and created a giant fireball. The flames from the fireball reached the ceiling caused the crowd to flinch.

"Charizard use Dragon Claw!" Giovanni exclaimed.

"Charizard use Slash!" Ash shouted.

The two Charizard clashed as they swapped blows.

"Charizard use Fire Punch!" Ash shouted.

"Take off!" Giovanni hollered.

As Ash's Charizard threw a punch of flame, Giovanni's Charizard took to the sky once more.

"Charizard use Inferno!" Giovanni boomed.

Giovanni's Charizard spit a bright indigo colored breath of flame that engulfed Ash's Charizard.

"Charizard, shake it off and fly!" Ash shouted.

Both Charizard were in the air again. The flame Pokémon spit flames at each other and dodged each others attacks. Despite Giovanni's Charizard having a slight speed advantage, the battle was even.

"Charizard use Dragon Tail!" Ash screamed.

"Charizard use Iron Tail!" Giovanni commanded.

The flame Pokémon tested each other's power as their attacks collided in midair. The dragons plummeted a few feet through the air but quickly recovered.

"Dive under your opponent and use Inferno!" Giovanni shouted.

The dragon dipped below Ash's Charizard and let out a breath of fire.

"Dodge it!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Charizard barrel rolled to the side, but was hit by the flames. Ash's Charizard plummeted to the ground. The fire type fell into the same crater Blastoise had created and kicked up a cloud of dust.

"I am impressed by the bond with your Pokémon that you've shown, but all good battles must end eventually." Giovanni said as his Charizard landed next to Ash's and waited for the command to end the battle.

"We're not done yet!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Charizard stood up and glared at Giovanni's Charizard. A faint shimmer was visible in its eyes as it waited for a command.

"Dragon Tail!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Charizard flipped Giovanni's Charizard up in the air with its powerful attack. As the opponent's fire type was in the air Ash eyed a chance to end the battle.

"Seismic Toss!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Charizard grabbed Giovanni's Charizard and began to fly in a loop.

"Break free and use Dragon Claw!" Giovanni commanded.

Giovanni's Charizard broke free from Ash's Charizard's grip and slashed its opponent. The fire-flying types landed in front of their trainers and waited for a command.

"Dragon Claw!" Giovanni shouted.

"Fire Punch!" Ash commanded.

Ash's Charizard took the attack from its opponent and delivered a powerful blow of its own. While Giovanni's Charizard was in a daze from being hit in the head with the powerful attack, Ash used it to his advantage. He nodded at his starter. Ash's Charizard grabbed its opponent and flew in a repeated loop before throwing it to the ground. Giovanni's Charizard created a second crater in the ground and dust surrounded it. As the dust cleared it revealed that Ash Ketchum was the winner.

"Congratulations, Ash." Giovanni said as he walked over to him and extended his hand.

"Thanks." Ash replied.

"I knew you'd be like your father one day, but I never guessed you'd win it today." Giovanni said.

The trainers returned their Charizard to their Pokeballs and smiled.

"Ash, I want you to follow me." Giovanni said as he led him into a darkened room.

Giovanni snapped his fingers and several lights turned on.

"What is this place?" Ash asked as he eyed a computer and several plaques.

"The Hall of Fame, all the champions arrive here one day." Giovanni replied.

As Ash stepped forward, he shook his head. He never thought he would get here, the road he took was long and challenging but worth it.

"Place your Pokémon here so I can register you and your team." Giovanni said.

Ash set his six Pokeballs on the table and watched as a light scanned over them.

"Welcome, Ash Ketchum." the machine said.

"Your father would be proud." Giovanni said as he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Ash asked.

"My work is done, I've found my successor as champion. One day you might do the same." Giovanni said.

"Where are you headed?" Ash asked.

"Where am I not headed? I have adventures and work to catch up on." Giovanni replied.

"Will I see you again?" Ash asked.

"Maybe, I'm sure our paths will cross again someday." Giovanni said as he smiled.

"We'll meet again, I promise." Ash said as a tear fell down his cheek.

"I'm sure of it, until we meet again." Giovanni said as he exited the room through a large hallway.

* * *

A young man with black hair, dark brown eyes, a red jacket, gold and black cap, and blue jeans smiled at he stared at a headstone.

"I think I know you meant about a successor, I might only be twenty, but I'm getting too old for this champion stuff. The paperwork is heck to deal with ever since Chester Goodshow took over. Tell my parents I said hi, and that I miss them. And don't worry I'll be back. We'll meet again." Ash said as he turned to leave.

* * *

_Author's Note: I listened to the original Pokémon theme after writing this, don't know why, probably because it fit with the battle. The final chapter has been completed, and I hope it meets expectations. And yes, Ash is looking for the next champion much like Giovanni before him. Team Rocket will return and the league will be updated in Legacy. The connections to Firered will be revealed, and so will the new protagonist. I'll give you all a hint. It's a traveling partner from the anime._

_I want to thank all my readers for their time and reviews. Until we meet again...Swordsman4._


End file.
